Forbidden Passions
by Dark Chyld713
Summary: Mercedes is a WWE Diva and sister of The Game himself. She's been warned not to date any wrestlers. What happens when she falls for Shane McMahon is not anything near what she had planned for her life or her career.
1. Forbidden Passions ch 1

**Mercedes, an up and coming diva of the wrestling industry said good bye to Shane McMahon, the one and only son of Vince; And the man who was starting the WCW invasion until the two corporations were merged together. **

"**The two of you are starting to get pretty close huh?" Shane's good friend Andrew (Test) asked him.**

"**She really is pretty amazing."**

"**You don't have to tell me twice, there isn't a guy here who doesn't know it."**

**Mercedes and Shane had grown close over the last year that she had come into the business. They both had feelings for each other that neither of them expressed. Shane knew that she was younger and completely focused on her career. Mercedes knew that it could cause many problems for her. She was hiding a secret from Shane; Something that few people knew. **

**Mercedes was the sister of one of the most well known wrestlers in all the industry, Triple H. He was overprotective and unreasonable when it came to her well being and what he believed to be in her best interest. **

"**Just because you are up here with me," He had said to her when she signed her contract, "doesn't mean that you are free to do what you want."**

"**Paul please don't do the fatherly thing right now."**

"**Cedes you know that I have to. You are the most prized possession that I have in this world."**

"**I know that Paul, but really I'm twenty three. I think that it's time you let me grow up a bit."**

"**You're right you do need to have your own freedoms."**

"**Exactly, this is why I don't want anyone knowing that you are my big brother."**

"**What? Why not?"**

"**I don't want special freedoms or privileges. I want to make it in this business on my own, sink or swim no matter what."**

"**O.k." he said with a smile. The two of them were so much alike. Their stubborn personalities matched only by their well known bad tempers and unforgiving attitudes. "There's just one thing that you need to do for me."**

"**And what exactly would that be?" Mercedes smiled. She was a bit amused by the fact that on the one day that should be purely hers her brother has a request. **

"**I don't want you dating any wrestlers."**

"**Why not? What's so wrong with me dating wrestlers?"**

"**Mercedes I just don't want you doing it. It gets very complicated mixing your two lives together. I don't want to see you get hurt by that."**

"**Paul you're doing it again. I should be allowed to do what I want."**

"**Cedes please just make me this one promise."**

"**Alright Paul I promise that I won't date any wrestlers."**

"**Hey Cedes," the familiar deep voice snapped Mercedes out of reminiscing. "What exactly where you thinking about girly?"**

"**How do you know that I was thinking about anything at all?" she moved in and hugged the large man standing in front of her. "Hi Paul," she smiled. **

"**I know you and you always have something on your mind. Besides you had a far off look in your eyes. You only get that way when you are thinking about something serious."**

"**Never you mind that. I just want to get to the hotel and get some sleep." She said taking his arm. **

"**It's been a long week for you I see. You've been everywhere. Are you sure that you can handle the work load?"**

"**Yes Paul I am sure." Mercedes was not in the mood for conversation. What she really wanted was to go back in time and tell Paul that if she found someone amazing that she would date them no matter who they were or what their profession. Lately she had found herself regretting making that promise to Paul. Shane was someone that she never thought she would be close to. Now it was all that she could do to hide her true feelings from Shane, Paul, and everyone else around. **

"**Mercedes wait up," Shane said catching up to her at the arena the next night.**

"**Hey Shane what do you need?"**

"**Nothing I just wanted to say hi, maybe hang out a bit before the show."**

"**Oh well, I am not really sure if I can."**

"**Do you have plans or something?"**

"**Well sort of."**

**She looked over her shoulder to see Paul coming up behind her. Her heart beat faster not knowing how any of it would turn out.**

"**Hey Shane," Paul said walking up to the two. "Cedes you ready to get some food?"**

"**Yeah I'll be right there." Paul looked at the two suspiciously. "I promise."**

"**O.k." he started to walk away and then turned around. "You be careful around her Shane. I don't want to see my baby sister getting into any trouble."**

**Mercedes stood silent and watched Shane's face drop in shock.**

"**Sister?" he asked in disbelief. "You are Triple H's sister?" **

"**Guilty," she said trying not to make it a big deal.**

"**I didn't know that." Shane said nothing for a moment then began to walk away. "O.k. well then I guess I'll see you later." He said as he basically ran away from her. **

**Shane avoided Mercedes for the rest of the night and continued to until she caught him in the hotel that night. **

"**Shane wait up," she called running up to him and Andrew. "I wanted to talk to you about before."**

"**Why didn't you tell me?" he asked trying to stay calm.**

"**I haven't really told anyone. I didn't think it was the best idea. I didn't want any sort of special treatment."**

"**So you just lied to me? Any time that I asked about your family, what they were like."**

"**I'm sorry but- "**

"**Please I don't want to hear it. You are just like every other lying scheming slut out there."**

"**What? Shane how could you possibly say that?"**

"**All year you lied to me. ALL YEAR!" he yelled at her. **

"**Don't you dare yell at me Shane McMahon! I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Paul but that gives you no right to say to me what you just did."**

"**It's the truth and I'm not taking it back. I don't want to know you anymore."**

**Mercedes stood there shocked at how fast Shane's attitude changed. "O.k. Shane if that's how you want to be. You're a horrible, horrible man. I can't believe that I ever cared for you. Just keep away from me from now on." Mercedes said walking away from him.**

**Shane watched her walk away and began to cry not fully knowing why he did what he just did. He knew that he had just ruined a great friendship and potential relationship. Andrew stared at Shane as he walked slowly away back to his hotel room. **


	2. Forbidden passions ch.2

**"Shane, what was that all about?" Andrew asked as he walked into Shane's hotel room. Shane looked up with a tear stained face. His normally neat and clean face and hair was disheveled and worn looking. "Oh man, come on." Andrew sat next to him and put his arm on his back. "You'll be fine; all you have to do is go and talk to her."  
"I can't," he said. "Can't you see? I can't do it. There is no way that I can do that."  
"Why not?" Andrew asked.  
"Andrew, if Paul finds out what happened, do you know what can happen?"  
"I know Paul, he may be protective, but he's not unreasonable."  
"He is when it comes to Mercedes. If I go back there and fix things and act like I am happy and that everything is going to be fine, I am messing things up for her and me. I'm not doing it."  
"Why and how?"  
"Paul would never let her stay." Shane said. "My dad would exploit the entire situation and things would get screwed up, royally."  
"That's not true." Andrew said. "At least talk to her."  
"I'm not apologizing, she still lied to me. She got what she deserved and she knows it."  
"One simple little lie, to keep you from not running away from her like you are now deserves her having the man that she feels for deeply right now scream at her and storm away?" He stood up and walked over to the other side of the room staring at Shane hunched over still shaking from crying. "Oh right I forget Shane, you're the big boss man and you need to have control over everything. She definitely deserves to have her heart broken, be totally humiliated and know that from now on she needs to stay away from you. Good going, I'm sure you made the right choice."  
"I didn't say that, but she lied." Shane said managing to spit out a few words in between sobs.  
"As do you and every one else on this earth every once and a while. So you can go and walk around like you are big and bad while really all you are is that little word that rhymes with wussy." Andrew said. Shane looked at him shocked. "Go ahead; fire me for what I am saying. I doubt you will because you know I'm right. There was no reason to do that to her. She didn't tell you because she knew that this is what you would do. She knows you better then you think she does. But you know best. So let her feel like she is the scum of the earth, let her feel like she isn't good enough for big bad you, but please keep it away from me. You really are a good actor, for a moment there you had me thinking that you actually cared for her." Andrew said and then left.  
"I do." Shane said as soon as the door closed. He did care for her; the problems was, was he really brave enough, bold enough, and stupid enough to tell her and try to have a little relationship behind the scenes without anyone knowing?  
Mercedes had kept herself from crying, she knew that Paul could come along at any time. If he saw her crying she would have to tell him everything and then all hell would really break loose. Her mind was a tornado of thoughts and ideas. She was left for the rest of the night with thoughts barreling through her mind at an unbearable speed. She was left with thoughts that were destroying her brain, her heart, the better part of her.  
"If that's what he wants to do to me then fine," she told herself. "I won't let him get the best of me. I can get so many other jobs, men; I have a great future ahead of me. I don't need to stay with him." she said. That was the truth, but it was the truth that she didn't want to bow down to. She knew that, for her, there wasn't a better man. She didn't want to go out this way and she was determined not to. If she had to swallow all pride in her then she would, she would give up everything just to have two minutes to fix things with Shane. There was a very large part of her that needed him in her life in one sort of form or another.  
"Cedes," Paul said knocking on the door in the morning. "Cedes let me in."  
He knocked on the door a little bit harder.  
"Coming." she said not wanting to get up yet. She didn't have much sleep and she wanted to stay in. But with Paul banging on the door she knew that he would think that something was wrong if she didn't answer.  
"Mercedes, open up." he said getting louder.  
"Calm down, I just got up." she said opening the door. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.  
"Why did you sleep so late? You scared me; did you forget that we were supposed to have breakfast together with Stephanie?"  
Mercedes gave a little grunt. "I'm so sorry." she said after she finished brushing. "I totally forgot. I got to bed late and I guess I slept through the alarm."  
"It's not a problem, but you better get ready we have to get out of here."  
"What time is it?"  
"Near twelve." he said.  
"I don't have to get out of here until two. I have a little promo to shoot before the show and that's all." she said. "You go on ahead. I'll see you there tonight."  
"You sure? I don't want you to get caught up in anything else and miss it." he said.  
"Paul, would you stop treating me like a baby? I can handle my own business affairs."  
"I'm sorry, I just don't want anyone taking advantage of you."  
"Well what if I want them to? What if I want to get into trouble for no reason? Let me do what I have to do. Leave me alone."  
"Mercedes what's up with you today?"  
"Get out." she said coldly. "I don't feel like being babied." she looked at Paul's shocked face. "I mean it Paul, go. I am not a baby, I can do what I want and date who I want. There isn't a damn thing that you can do about it." she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.  
Paul stood there shocked for a moment and then walked away. When he told Stephanie what had happened all she said was that she told him not to be so over protective.  
Mercedes didn't talk to her brother until later on that night.  
"Listen Paul I want to apologize for going off on you like that."  
"It's fine. I know that I have been a little hard on you and I'm sorry. I don't want to see you hurt and I am still getting use to you being independent."  
"Well get use to it." she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I love you for al that you have done for me, but you've done enough, so please stop."  
"I'll try." he smiled. "Go get ready you have a match tonight,"  
Mercedes walked off to go to her dressing room, on her way she walked into Shane.  
"Oh I'm sorry," she said looking up at him. "Good luck tonight," she said and walked off.  
"Mercedes," Shane called after her. She turned around, about ready to cry at her misfortune with Shane. "I'm sorry, but-" he managed to say.  
"So am I." she said. Not allowing him to say another word she walked to her dressing room.  
There was a knock on her door.  
"Come on in." she said. Andrew walked in.  
"How you feeling today?" he asked her.  
"Not much better, but I'm trying." she said.   
"That's good to hear. Have you talked to Shane?" he asked.  
"I just saw him. Didn't say much, just good luck and walked away."  
"Oh," he said softly.  
"Yes, now I have to go out there and pretend that I am sparking something up with Jeff, I don't get how they can do this. I mean how can they not let their personal lives bother them? How do you do it?"  
"I don't think about it. When you come into the arena, and step into that ring, you leave your life behind you. You become that alter ego; you are that character and nothing else."  
Mercedes nodded. "Good advice, I'll try it."  
"Listen, with all that's going on, I want you to know that I am still trying to work on Shane and get him to see that he should take the chance of being with you."  
"You don't have to do that, he made his decision and that's the bottom line. Let him alone, if he wants to change his mind then he can."  
"Are you sure that you want it that way?" Andrew asked her.  
"I'm positive. I don't need someone talking him into having some sort of sympathy or pity for me. I want him to think for himself and look back and see what he's lost."  
"You seem o.k. with this all."  
"I'm trying to be, but it's really not working very well. I snapped at Paul, and I can't seem to manage a smile for anything in the world. It really does feel like I lost another piece of me."  
"Don't worry, things will work out. I guess I should go get changed, I have things to do." he looked at me and shook his head. "You're strong you can get through this o.k.?"  
"You know it." Mercedes tried to put on a fake little smile, but it didn't' work very well.  
Andrew gave a half grin and walked out as Jeff walked in.  
"Hey Mercedes, is everything o.k. with you?" he asked me.  
"Not really, but does it matter right now?"  
"O.k., if you want to talk about it you know where I am." he said. Jeff, as well as the other members of Team Xtreme was some of her closest friends. "And if not me then I am sure that Amy will be of some help."  
"I'm afraid that she won't. Not on this one. Anyway, what's going on."  
"Well, we're going on pretty soon, I mean we have the backstage stuff then we have the ring action, so I was just coming to make sure that you are totally cool with doing this,"  
"It's my job, and I have no reason not to want to do this. We're adults and know that none of this is going to carry on outside the ring. I mean, you have a girlfriend, and I'm well, I'm single and have no one to worry about, so I should be asking you if this is cool with you."  
"You know that it is." he sat down. "Are you sure that you are fine? Is there something that's going on that you don't want to tell me or just are trying to hide from everyone?"  
"I'm trying to hide it from everyone and I don't want to talk about it. So basically we have a combination of both."  
"O.k. well, show started," Jeff said looking at the clock on the wall.  
"I know," I put my head down. "It still seems weird that I am in a way finally associated with Team Xtreme. I'm not being put in it, but how did they think of putting us together?" I asked.  
"I don't know, I guess they thought that it would be cute." Jeff brushed away of Mercedes auburn hair and saw a little tear on her face. "Tell me what's wrong."  
"I can't. I can't start to cry, I can not and will not go on camera looking like a mess."  
"If you want it that way," Jeff stood up. "I have to get suited up and get ready. I'll see you in a few."  
Mercedes nodded her head. "I'll be there."  
When Jeff walked out all the anger inside of Mercedes emerged as she threw a tray of vegetables across the room. Shane always made sure that she had a little tray in her room.  
"I hate you Shane for doing this to me," she yelled. After a few minutes of crying she got herself together and bounced around her room trying to keep her mind busy. She thought about having to go out there and kissing Jeff like it was all real and that she sincerely meant it. There was one thing, she had no love to share, right now her body was filled with anger, but she would take Andrew's advice as she was told to make her way to Jeff's locker room.  
"Jeff, I've been looking for you," she said in a cheerful manner when she walked in the dressing room.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Well, I wanted to tell you that I really appreciate you getting me away from that monster Albert. He use to be nice, but now he's really flipped."  
"I didn't really do anything though."  
"Don't be so modest, I just wanted to say thank you for that missile drop kick and letting me get out of there."  
"But I-I- didn't-"  
"It doesn't matter, I just wanted to thank you and tell you that..." I leaned in and whispered in his ear.  
A huge smile crossed Jeff's face as he leaned against the wall.  
"Good luck tonight. I'll see you later," I said running my nail down his shirt.  
I walked past Matt and Lita and said hi.  
"Jeff, Jeff." Matt said waving his hand in front of Jeff's face. "What's going on with him?" Matt asked Lita.  
"I don't know. Jeff?" Lita studied his face and shrugged.  
As the show went to commercial Jeff still stood there shocked at what I said to him.  
"Jeff, you can unfreeze now." Matt said.  
"What?" Jeff said snapping out of his daze.  
"That's what we should be asking you, what did Mercedes say that did that to you?"  
"Something that is very interesting, and that I am definitely going to enjoy later on." Jeff smiled again and didn't say another word.  
Mercedes had whispered to him that when she went out to kiss him she was going to go full force so he better be prepared. It was immature, but she knew that it would make Shane jealous and she wanted to upset him. It was a small measure of revenge for the things that Shane had said to her.  
Jeff had a match against X-Pac for the light heavy weight belt that night. Since Albert did not show up ringside Mercedes walked out during the middle of the match and "distracted" X-Pac. Allowing Jeff to get the three count and be crowned the new light heavy weight champion. This was how Mercedes was going to be the newest ally to the members of "Team Xtreme".   
She jumped in the ring and gave Jeff a hug and held his hand up high. Unexpected to Jeff, she grabbed him and kissed. Mercedes had told him that she wasn't hold anything back, but he had surprised her. After she pulled away from the kiss she smiled and left the ring. Mercedes looked back and mouthed sorry to Jeff. He ran up after her, something that she didn't plan on him doing and grabbed her arm. He lifted his eyebrows and grabbed her for another kiss. If Mercedes thought that he and she had let everything go last time, she was wrong.  
She stood there and let Jeff do his thing, and then she walked up the platform hand in hand.  
She slapped him as we got backstage. "What was that about?"  
"What?" he asked. "I am just doing my job."  
"That seemed like you took a little bit past your job and went a little into your own pleasure."  
"So what if I did? You didn't seem to fight it to much," he said with a smile.  
"Whatever," Mercedes said with a laugh.  
"You were just too good the first time to let you go without a second kiss."  
"Right," She said. "I am sure that it was. Just please, if you plan on doing something like that then would you please tell me?"  
"I will. Welcome to our relationship," Jeff said jokingly.  
"Oh yeah I can tell right now that I am going to like this so much."  
"Consider yourself lucky. I'll catch you back at the hotel."  
"Bye." Mercedes headed to her dressing room. She saw Shane standing there and almost turned around. "This is ridiculous," she thought to herself. "He isn't going to mess up my life like this."  
She walked by him without a word.  
"What no hi anymore?" he said.  
"You want to hear hi? Get a life." she said coldly. She was trying to play it hard and upset but every bit of her wanted to fall in his arms and beg him to give the two of a chance.  
"Why are you being so mean?"  
"There's a simple answer to that, it's what you deserve. Excuse me I have to get changed so I can leave."  
"Can you at least talk to me?"  
"When you learn how to talk then I'll think about it."  
"You can't even say that you are mad at me, that makes no sense. You just went out there, made out with Jeff and you are mad at me? Shouldn't this be the other way around?"  
"No, two reasons. One, it's all a storyline and two I am not in any type of relationship with anyone so yes I have ever right to be mad at you."  
"That's not fair."  
"Neither are you and neither is life." She shut the door in his face and threw her bag against the wall. She cared for him so much, but she couldn't just give in to him and fall into his arms. She needed to make her point and show that she could live without him. She wanted him, but she didn't need him. And she needed to make that clear to him.  
There was a soft knock on the door as Mercedes was getting her things together.  
"Mercedes can I come in?"  
"Yeah," she said. Stephanie walked in and sat down next to her.  
"You know, Paul was a little shocked at the way that you acted."  
"I know, and I have to talk to him about that a little more, I was just under a little to much stress."  
"Is there anything that you want to talk to me about?"  
Mercedes stayed quiet and thought about telling her. If there was a way that she could tell her without it getting back to Paul then she would have.  
"No," she said finally. "I'm o.k. I just need a little time to cool off and calm down, I'm still all pumped up from that match."  
"That was quite a kiss with Jeff."  
"It was all his idea, but he's not half bad." They laughed and talked for a few more minutes.  
"Cedes," Paul yelled as she was walking to her car.  
"Yeah," she yelled back turning around.  
"Come by my room later if you can. I want to talk."  
"I will if I can. If I can't, I'll catch up with you at tomorrow's show."  
"O.k. then I'll see you a bit later."  
It was one of the times that Paul and Mercedes didn't travel together. She had decided to travel with Matt, Jeff and Amy.  
She walked into the hotel to get her things together for the early trip the next day.  
As she walked into her room she saw a few bunches of yellow and pink roses. She found a card in one of the bouquets.  
She recognized the writing as Shane's.  
"If you can't forgive me to be a couple, then please at least except this apology so that we can get back to being friends. I need you."  
She smiled and laughed at the same time that she wanted to through the flowers out the window or over Shane's head.  
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. And as sure as she was there was Shane standing at the door.  
"Listen, I know that card doesn't say it all, but I'm sorry." he said.  
"I didn't want to lie, but I knew that you would get all nervous and everything if I told you that I was Paul's sister."  
"I know I overreacted and I am so sorry about that. When I saw you kiss Jeff I just felt like I was missing out on all of these great things that he was getting. I tried to tell you that I was sorry, but I couldn't and I didn't know how. I was to proud. You didn't deserve any of what I said to you at all."  
"I did deserve some of it. Come in, I want to talk to you."  
So the talking with Paul left Mercedes mind and she sat and talked with Shane for hours. They weren't talking about even starting a relationship, but it was as if they were finding out about each other for the first time. They talked about everything and each apologized hundreds of times. Shane knew that he had more to be sorry for, but he liked the fact that Mercedes was even take any of the credit for that fight and they way that each of them had acted that day.**


	3. Forbidden Passions ch.3

Mercedes met up with Paul at the next venue, with Shane by her side.  
"Cedes, you never came by last night." Paul said to her.  
"I know I'm sorry." she said. "I got kind of caught up with something else last night."  
"Well, I really need to talk to you. It would mean a lot to me, if you found time to try and talk to me."  
"Paul, I told you that I am sorry, there really is no reason to get all nasty."  
"I'm not getting nasty, but you and I really need to talk."  
"I know that, and it is important to me that we talk too, but it's not going to happen now."  
"Where is all of this attitude coming from lately?" Paul asked. He was use to having Mercedes not talk her mind and go along with what he said. Not that he wanted her to be submissive and not stand up for herself, but there was always a certain amount of respect that was retained and now that seemed to be fading away.  
"What attitude? I'm telling you that I will talk to you, and that it means a lot to me, but you can't expect me to drop everything and go off with you."  
"Fine, but just come by some time to talk." he said walking away.  
"And that is the man that would understand when you told him that we were dating?" Shane said.  
"No, because first off, we aren't dating, and I never said that he would understand, I said that I could talk to him about it."  
"And that would help?"   
"I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to try." Mercedes said. "Don't worry about it." she said. "Let's just worry about the show tonight."  
"God the show."   
"What, what's wrong?" she asked him.  
"I have to watch you and Jeff." Shane said to her. "I don't like that."  
"What are you trying to tell me?" she asked Shane. "Are you jealous of Jeff and I?"  
"Actually, now that I think about it, in a way, yes." he said.  
"Why?"   
"Because he gets to put his hands on you."  
"You can too, if you ask the right way."  
"I would, but, ya' know." he said.  
"I know. I have to get changed, I have a match to do." she patted Shane's arm and went into the dressing room.  
"See you later on." Shane said walking to his dressing room.  
Mercedes closed the door and let out a little scream of happiness. Finally things seemed to really be going the way that she wanted them to.  
She went on with the show like she usually did. Her and Jeff faked their relationship and fought in a tag match. But this time she was happier about what was going on. She accompanied Matt and Jeff ring side along with Lita. Both women were known for their high-flying techniques like the Hardy Boys. This time Mercedes was able to jump around, and do what they needed to do. The Hardy's were facing Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit for the tag team titles. So Mercedes got an idea.  
"Lita, get on the rope, 'litacarrana'." Mercedes said so the cameras could hear. Matt and Jeff were in a little bit of trouble and the crowd was chanting for Lita and Mercedes to help them out.  
So Mercedes climbed the top rope along with Lita and did a stereo hurricarrana of the top rope. The crowd went insane. Matt hit his twist of fate and Jeff hit his Swanton Bomb, and then Matt scored the pin and the win. The Hardy's were now the new WWF tag team champs for the fifth time. All four stood in the ring and held their hands high.  
"Nice idea." Jeff said. "It looked real good. And it helped us win."  
"Thank you, thank you." Mercedes said.   
"Welcome to the world of Team Xtreme." Matt said. "You'll do just fine."  
"I'm going to take a shower." she said. "I need a shower."  
"See you later, baby." Jeff said jokingly to Mercedes.  
"You only wish Jeffrey." Mercedes said with a smile. She could not hide her new mood and the fact that she was absolutely happy about the way that her life was going.  
She was thinking about Shane and everything that was going on, that she almost forgot about having to go and talk to Paul. As soon as she got out of the shower she went to Paul's dressing room.  
"I'm here for our talk." She said sitting down on the couch in Paul's room.  
"Good. Now I just want to ask you one question, and then you can answer and our talk with be basically over."  
"Go ahead."  
"Why are you giving me and attitude every time I try to keep an eye on you? I have never seen you like this before. You listened to what I had to say, and even if you didn't listen to it, you at least gave me the respect for trying to keep you safe."  
"Paul, have you ever stopped and realized how old I am? Did you ever stop to think that I am 25 and I can take care of myself? I respect you and I love you more than anyone in this business. It has nothing to do with whether or not I love you or respect you, it's all about letting me live my life."  
"I let you."  
"You let me let you run my life. I want you to let me live my life and watch from the sidelines, everyone once and a while coming in to help me out. I just want to live me life."  
"I didn't' think that I was being so overprotective towards you. I'm sorry."  
"And I am sorry that I have been snapping at you. It's just been a stressful week trying to work out a middle ground between Jeff and I."  
"Just don't date him."  
"Paul you have told me a hundred times that you don't want me dating anyone in the business and right now I'm not, and I wouldn't if it made you uncomfortable."  
"Good."  
"I'm not saying that it will never happen, but I'm saying that you need to know that if I find that guy that I want to be around for the rest of my life I am going to go for it."  
"No you won't."  
"Why? That's how you meet Stephanie."  
"That was different."   
"No it wasn't." she said. "What about being on those sidelines? Let me live my own life kay?"  
"All right. But don't date anyone, at least not now." he said.   
"Fine." she said. Mercedes stood up slowly and stood face to face with Paul just smiling at him. "I love you, always remember that."  
"I will, or at least I will try when I see you doing things that I don't want you to do."  
"Good." she smiled and walked out of the dressing room and right into Shane.   
"What are you doing around here?" Mercedes asked Shane in a playful flirtatious way.  
"Wanted to tell Paul that my dad wants to see him after the show."  
"Well, I'll wait for you then we can leave together,"  
"Sounds like a plan."  
"Cool, let me get my things together." she said walking away.  
Shane and Mercedes left the building together talking and laughing like they always did. But this time Mercedes felt like something was a little different. There was something in the way that Shane talked to her and touched her.  
"So I'll see you tomorrow." Shane said looking at her with a little anxiety.  
"Will you give me a ride to the arena?"   
"Sure. It's a deal. Good night."  
"Shane." Mercedes said grabbing Shane's arm. "Umm, good night."   
Shane just stared at her and then kissed her. "I better get going."  
"No wait, why don't you stay?" she said. Mercedes grabbed Shane and kissed him again bringing him into the room.  
"This isn't a good idea, if someone finds out, we'll be in a lot of trouble."  
"I don't care, I just want you." she said.  
"No, no." Shane said pushing her away. "I can't do that to you."  
"Do what?"   
"I gotta go." he said. "I'll pick you up tomorrow."  
"O.K. sweet dreams."  
"Night," He gave her one last kiss and then went to his room.  
He could have made something happen that night, but it was to soon. For him, for her, and it was too risky at that time; Especially with Paul on alert because of his concern for Mercedes and her new want to be on my own attitude.  
"You look happy." Andrew said when Shane walked in. Shane and Andrew were known for sharing a room together if they wanted to save money.  
"I am," Shane said. He told Andrew about what happened before.  
"Dangerous." Andrew said.  
"I know, maybe I should have kept it to myself."  
"Maybe. Good night lover boy."  
The next few days would be like something out of a fairy tale or the sunshine before the hurricane for Mercedes and Shane.  
A rollercoaster that neither of them would forget.


	4. Forbidden Passions ch.4

The nights were long and the days were seemingly too short to Mercedes and Shane. The few hours of daylight that the two of them had together were filled with laughter and memories that would last a life time.  
The one thing that made the nights a bit sweeter was the fact that Shane, with his WCW invasion would be around just about every RAW. But even the fact that Shane was around Mercedes and by her side most of the day could not keep the fear and stress from Mercedes mind that she was risking so much for what could be nothing.  
Every little movement she made in the way of Shane was risking her near everything. Any time that she fell into his arms for comfort or rest, any time that she accepted a kiss from Shane she was risking more then he could ever understand. The very thought that she could be putting everything on the line to be a simple fling, or joy ride in the eyes of Shane was far too much to handle.  
"Hey girl are you feeling ok?" Amy asked sitting in the locker room.   
"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind, family things."  
"You know that I'm here for you if you really need to talk."   
Mercedes smiled remembering the times that Amy was there and thought of the reassurance she felt knowing that if things went wrong with Shane Amy would be there for her. The simple thought of their friendship brought a smile to Mercedes face.  
"I know thanks."  
"No problem, but pick it up before your match,"  
"I will." Mercedes said knowing that she was right.  
She would be going on in a few minutes so her thoughts needed to be lay aside for the time being.  
Her concentration was broken when she felt hands drop on her shoulders standing backstage waiting for her turn to go out. Before she even turned around she knew that she would see Shane.  
"You seem tense."  
"I'm fine," she said shrugging of his shoulders.  
"OK, well, after the show I need to talk to you, it's very important."  
"What is this 'it' about?"  
'Wait till later, but I really want to talk to you, can you be there?"  
I'll be there."  
"Good, you seem a little upset, are you sure that everything is fine?"  
"Everything is fine." she tried to give a smile, but managed half.  
"Great, this is going to be so exciting I can't wait." he kissed the top of her head and walked away.  
Mercedes wasn't left with much time to think over what would have Shane so excited, her music hit and she was forced to push aside any thoughts or problems she had. As always the adrenaline rush of being tossed, pushed, hit, flying off turnbuckles was able to push her thoughts far from her mind. By the end of the match she had forgotten about the strange talk that she and Shane had earlier.  
"Girl you rocked out there,"  
"Don't I usually?"  
"Yes you do, see you tomorrow."  
"Yeah."  
"Oh," Amy said stopping her from walking away. "Shane told me to tell you to meet him at his car when you're all done."  
"Thanks." she said absently. Her mind was already back to what she should feel or think about Shane. There was so much uncertainty with where the two of them stood. They had spent every moment they could in each others company but did that mean that they were going somewhere?

All of this confusion had her avoiding any heavy conversations with Paul. She knew how quick he was to lose his temper. How could she risk so much for a man that she didn't know if he was serious about her?

The confusion and troubling thoughts showed her face. If she wasn't so consumed in her thoughts she would have seen that the same thing was happening to Shane.

"Cissy," Shane said looking at her. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am," she said smiling at him once she reached the car. "Why do you ask?"

"Well because you look like something is bothering you."

"There is, but only a little bit." She studied his face seeing that he was troubled as well. "Can we go back to my room? There's something that I really need to ask you and talk to you about."

"It sounds serious." Shane said helping Mercedes put her bags in the car.

"Let's just talk when we get to the hotel." She smiled at him. "It isn't anything bad."

The ride back to the hotel was filled with silence and tension. Neither of them said a word to each other as they walked into Mercedes hotel room and settled in.

"So what is that you wanted to talk to me about?" Shane asked. The waiting was getting to him and the tension was beginning to make him anxious.

Mercedes sighed. "I need to know how you feel about me."

"What? I thought that you knew that. Why are you asking that?"

"Please Shane I need to know how you feel about me."

"Cissy you know that I care for you."

"No Shane that isn't what I mean." She took a deep breath in and tried to calm down. A few tears fell down her cheeks.

"Mercedes what is wrong?" Shane asked immediately grabbing her and holding her.

"Shane I want to tell Paul about you. I mean I want to tell him how I feel about you. I just don't know if you are going to be in this for the long haul or just having some sort of fling with me." Tears started to fall down harder as she imagined the possibility of being rejected by Shane. "I don't know if I'm risking everything for nothing. If I am Shane then I need to know now. I need to know how you feel about me."

"O.k. listen to me very closely. I have never felt this way about any woman before. This is not going to be some fling that I am going to end in a week. I am going to stand by your side for the foreseeable future as long as you allow me to." He kissed her cheek and lifted her face so that she was looking at him. "Never doubt my feelings for you. I know what is at stake and I will not run away from that."

She nodded her head and laid her head on his chest. "Thank you Shane."

The two talked a bit longer to put Mercedes fears to rest. Shane didn't realize just how much was at stake for her. The thought of how much she would have to give up almost made him tell her that he wouldn't be able to commit to her and walk out. But one look at her and knowing how vulnerable she was; he knew that he didn't want to go anywhere.

"I should get going," he said checking his watch.

"Can't you stay the night?" she asked him.

"It's not a good idea."

"You never stay the night, you always leave. Please Shane just this one night. I don't want to be alone."

"It really isn't the best idea."

"Shane I'm not talking about doing anything other than lying in the same bed holding each other. I need to know that you are with me no matter what."

Shane stayed silent for a moment. "O.k. but no hogging the blankets," he said with a smirk.

Mercedes laughed and re-positioned a bit so that Shane could lie next to her.

"Thank you," she said to him as she laid her head on his chest.

"Anything for you Cissy," Shane said kissing the top of her head and wiping away the last few bits of tears that were falling down her face.


	5. Forbidden Passions ch5

The knock on the door that Mercedes heard that morning would change things for a lifetime. But through the emotional stress and the physical weariness from the job, Mercedes wasn't thinking of things in that way.  
She knew Paul to be a bit irrational when it came to his temper, but he was always calm and sensible given a few minutes to relax. There was no doubt in her mind that when he found out about Shane he would be angry, but at the moment it could be kept that they were close friends and then let out the fact that they were a couple.  
Opening the door to Paul's knocks and calls through the door, Mercedes tried to get her brain in motion.  
"What time is it?"  
"It's not too late, I came to pick you up for breakfast, remember?" he said calmly.  
"Yeah, that's right. I'm so sorry I guess I was a little bit more tired then I thought I was." Mercedes opened the door up fully. "I'll get showered and dressed, ten minutes I promise. Come on in." she let her brother in not thinking that he would over react too much when he heard why Shane was there.  
"Cedes," Paul said slowly. "Is that Shane?" he asked.  
"Yes." she answered calmly.  
"Why is he here in your room at nine in the morning?" he asked as calmly as she had answered.  
"I had a stressful week, we talked about it and I asked him to stay. I didn't feel like being alone. Nothing at all happened."  
"He spent the entire night in the same bed as you?"  
"Yes I asked him to."  
"Mercedes how could you? Is there something here that I don't know about?"  
"Shane and I care for each other, I needed him and he stayed, that's all there is to it.' she said after some time. There was no easy way to tell him, so the honest truth was necessary, there was nothing more to the night, or to them then she had said.  
"I told you that you couldn't date wrestlers, I told that to you."  
"And I am not here to follow your every wish. I love you with all my heart, but I needed Shane here, so he stayed."  
"It could've been any body else but Shane-"  
"It could've been any body else but Stephanie." She said interrupting him. "If you're going to get all upset over this then you should leave, I'll meet you downstairs and we can talk."  
"No, I want you to tell me what is going on between the two of you. I want answers and I want them now." Paul was not even looking at Mercedes but at Shane who was still sleeping.  
Mercedes followed his line of sight and caught on to what he was thinking. "Don't you dare. You leave him alone Paul. Shane did nothing wrong." Mercedes moved between the bed and Paul. "Leave Paul," she said in an angry whisper. "Leave now before you do anything that you'll regret later."  
Shane moved around a bit and then in a sleep filled voiced asked, "Is everything all right?"  
"Fine Shane" Mercedes answered. "Go now." she said to Paul.  
"Hi Paul, I didn't know that you were going to stop by today."  
The tension in Paul's face was more than evident, and he could take it no longer. In one swift movement he had pushed his sister aside and grabbed Shane.  
"You know I don't want her dating wrestlers don't you?" He asked slamming Shane against the wall.  
Mercedes got up from the floor and grabbed Paul's arm trying to get him to let go of Shane.  
"And now you try and take advantage of her." Shane's body hit the wall with a hard thud.  
"It's not like that." Shane said. "Paul, listen to me, I think I lo-"  
"Don't say that, you don't know anything." he slammed Shane against the wall again. "You don't know what love is. Stay away from Cedes."  
He seemed ready to let go of Shane, instead he threw him hard up against the wall one last time and looked down at Shane as he tried to breathe regularly again. "Stay away from her."  
"What do you think you're doing?" Mercedes yelled kneeling down next to Shane.  
"You are too young to know what you want. I have to protect you from scum like him." Paul said as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.  
Mercedes' anger was at an all time high. Her determination to get Paul to see the truth was not going to be slowed down. "I may not be near my thirties, but hear me now, I know what I want, I know who I want and I know where I want my future to go. I do not need looking after. Leave now and don't come back. Shane and I may have just decided that we want a relationship together but that is our business."  
"You try and start a relationship and I promise I will do everything in my power to stop it."  
"Was that some sort of threat to me? Paul I am your sister think about what you're doing."  
"You need protection, and you will not be dating him. Take it as an open threat, however you want, just know I'm doing this all for your own good. That heap of pathetic scum is not what you want for the rest of your life."  
The anger that Mercedes had been fighting to control took over her. Before anyone realized what happened Paul backed away stunned. With all the strength the Mercedes could gather she threw a punch straight at Paul's jaw.  
"Mercedes!" Shane yelled. She spun around and saw him standing by the bed. "Stop now, both of you." He walked to Mercedes and placed both hands on her shoulder. "I'm going to leave now, this isn't right. There are a lot of things that the two of you need to work out. And until then, we can't work out." He glanced quickly at Paul. "I'm not going to put any more stress or worry on you, so Paul's right I can't be around you. Not until it's all straightened up." Tears were threatening to spill over his face as he saw the tears stream freely down Mercedes face in a mixture of anger and pain. Without another word he walked out of the door.  
Paul went to go say something, but Mercedes pushed past him and caught up with Shane in the hallway.  
"You can't do this. I need you Shane, now more than ever."  
"No Mercedes you need yourself. All you need is the courage and strength to tell Paul what is what. To make him understand what you are feeling. All of that I can't help with."  
"Don't leave."  
"I need to, it's for the best. God knows I'm no saint, I'm just trying to right a wrong that happened because of me."  
There was a silence between the both of them for a few seconds, and Shane could not fight the urge to hold her any more.  
"I'm going to miss you so much. "  
"I'm going to miss you too." Mercedes said clinging to him.  
"If ever you need a friend to laugh with, call me up." he sighed. "I never knew that I could get addicted to a person, but you've got me hooked. I have to go."  
"Shane don't leave."  
"I have work to do. I'm going away for a bit. I tried to tell you last night, but I couldn't find the words. When I get back I'll check up on you."  
"Where are you going?"  
"No where of any importance. I'll be dreaming about you every night."  
"Shane I-"  
Shane held a finger to her lips to stop her from saying what he couldn't bear to hear. "I know you do." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I love you Cissy, always remember that." he whispered in her ear. With that he turned and walked down the hallway.  
Mercedes stood in the same spot for a few minutes shocked at what had just happened. Now everything was changed, her life was altered, all in a matter of ten minutes. With the feeling of Shane's lips on her cheeks, and the way he had said her nickname caused Mercedes to stand frozen in time. Not bothering to fight the tears pouring down her face.  
Somewhere in her daze of confusion she heard Andrews voice.  
"Mercedes, what happened?" he asked as she turned around and he saw that it wasn't only Shane that had been crying but her too. "Shane just came back to the room. His eyes are red and his back looks like it's about to get one huge bruise."  
"Paul," was all she said and Andrew pulled her into a hug knowing that everything had changed for Shane and Mercedes.  
This was the storm, the time that would determine if Shane and Mercedes were really meant to be. The only thing that he or anyone else could do was watch from the sidelines.


	6. Forbidden Passions ch 6

Mercedes walked back to her hotel room her head spinning. Nothing seemed real to her. She walked through the hallway unable to get a grip on everything that had just happened to her. As she approached her hotel room her entire body seemed to become weak and heavy at the same time. She wasn't sure whether or not Paul had stayed after she ran out. And if he had stayed there was no way to know what he would say to her once she walked back in. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably as her legs began to give way underneath her. She quickly grabbed the doorknob to keep herself from collapsing. Sliding in her room key she decided that she would give Paul no chance to explain any of his actions if he were still in the room. She took a deep breath in and opened the door to see Paul sitting on the bed with a far off look in his eyes and remorse written all over every line in his face.

"I didn't think that you were going to come back." He said to her once she walked in the room.

"I don't have anywhere else to go," Mercedes said trying to stop the constant flow of tears that seemed to be draining her life force. She had begun to feel more than worn out; it almost felt as if everything inside of her was slowly shutting off.

"Mercedes don't say that. You know that you always have me."

"Get out Paul," she said very calmly.

"We need to talk about- "

"Get out Paul," she repeated. "There is nothing that you can say to make any of this better. There is nothing that you can do that will make me want to have anything more to do with you."

"Mercedes you are just a little angry. When you calm down a little bit you will realize that what I did was for the best."

"Paul," her voice rose and her eyes found a new life as a pure sense of fury entered her. "You don't get it do you? You are my brother, not my keeper. I told you once that if I found someone that I would be with him no matter what. I am now going to tell you that again. I'm staying with Shane."

"No you aren't."

"Get out Paul. Get out or I will make that bruise on your face look like a birth mark compared to the rest of the scars I will leave on you."

"I'm not going to go anywhere. You and I need to work this out between us."

"The only thing that I need to work out is how to get Shane to understand that the next time he comes within fifty feet of me he isn't going to get pummeled." She looked at him and saw that he was hurt by what she had said. Laying her anger aside for a moment she stopped to talk to him as his sister. "Forgetting everything that happened between us, do you realize what you just did?"

Paul gave her a puzzled look still not thinking about the full gravity of what he had just done.

"Paul you assaulted the boss's son. You just attacked Shane McMahon, a man who has it in his power to throw you out of wrestling. The son of a man who has the power to destroy just about every aspect of your life as well as your career."

Paul put his head between his legs feeling the full weight of what he did come down on his shoulders. "Mercedes I wasn't thinking. All I saw was you; thinking about how you would get hurt."

"Paul if I do get hurt than it's my choice. I don't need you to watch over every little move that I make. It is my life; my time to love, live, and mess things up. If I get hurt along the way then so be it. I am going to live my life my way Paul and what you did to Shane and to me was unforgivable." Paul whipped his head and looked at Mercedes with a mixture of pain, and shock. "I'm serious Paul. I am your sister and I will love you as my brother because I have to but any love that I had for you because I wanted to love you is gone. You have gone way too far this time Paul and I'm not going to let it happen again."

"Mercedes I am your older brother protecting you is what I am supposed to do."

"Paul it's time for you to go now." Mercedes didn't say another word. Instead she stood up from the bed went over to the door and held it open.

"O.k.," Paul said studying her expression for a few moments. "I'll leave, but this is far from over Cedes. Shane is not going to stay with you. You made a promise and I am going to make sure that you keep it no matter what you think."

Mercedes stayed alone in her room all afternoon long without talking to anyone. Clouds moved in across the sky as if to respond to her broken heart. She knew that she could call Shane, or run down to his hotel room. But she didn't know how much good it was going to do. Shane would probably stay away from her for weeks after what happened. He wouldn't go back to her unless Paul was fine with their relationship. Tears began forming at the corner of her eyes as she began to realize that unless Shane had a love for her that was completely indestructible he wasn't going to stay with her. It was bad enough that he would be away for the next few days. Business he told her. But she was skeptical of that at this point. There was nothing in her life now that didn't make her jaded. She was more than sure that Shane would want nothing to do with her from now and that Paul's career would soon be over.

"Hey Shane, before you leave do you think that you should talk about what happened?" Andrew asked him watching him pack his things up slowly and quietly.

"I don't want to talk Andrew," Shane said in a very quiet voice.

"Shane you have to talk to someone. It's not good to hold everything in."

"I don't want to talk Andrew. Right now it hurts so badly that I don't want to be alive. I need to stay focused on something else besides the constant ripping apart that I am feeling right now."

Andrew walked over to Shane and put his arm on Shane's shoulder. "It'll be o.k."

"Don't tell me that Andrew," Shane said getting angry. "Don't tell that it'll be o.k. when you know that it won't. Do you see this?" he lifted his shirt showing his swollen and bruised back. "This is because I spent the night holding Mercedes, nothing more than holding her! How was I supposed to leave her when she was questioning whether or not I was truly in love with her? How can I spend any more time with her when this will happen every time?"

"You don't know that it will. Paul lost his temper. Not like he's going to pull this every time he sees you with Mercedes."

"The thing is that if I knew it would help I would take a hundred beatings like this just to keep her in my arms." Shane broke down for the first time that day. He sank to the floor as he legs gave out on him. The room began to spin around him. "She was just standing there crying. I walked away from her instead of holding her. Why did I leave her standing there all broken up like that?" Sobs racked his body as he crumpled in a pile on the floor.

"Shane you did what was right. She needed to set Paul straight. There's nothing more that you can do. Taking a beating every day of your life is not going to make anything better for your or her." Andrew picked him up off the floor and sat him on the bed. "Don't blame yourself. I am sure that she is going to call you tonight and tell you that everything is o.k."

Shane said nothing else just sat for another half hour shaking and crying while Andrew sat there with his arm around Shane. He wondered if Mercedes and Shane would be able to work things out knowing that if they weren't able to he would watch his dear friend die inside painfully and slowly.

Mercedes picked up her phone and called Vince. She decided that wrestling that night would not be a very bad idea. Seeing as how it was a house show it would not be that big of a deal for her to skip out the night. Vince was not very pleased to hear that she needed the night off but understood. Every now and then the superstars need a break to just be regular, screwed up people.

She grabbed her bags and left the hotel before anyone could stop her or ask her where she was going. Because she had extra time she decided to drive to the next location it was only about a hundred miles away and would only take a few hours to get there if traffic agreed with her. She needed the time alone to think about what had happened and how she should approach Shane.

The sun was setting by the time Mercedes had reached her next destination. She sat in her car for a few minutes staring at the sunset thinking how Shane would have loved the color streaked sky. She sighed and got her bearings before going inside to check in. It was coming up on show time and she knew that soon enough she would be getting phone calls, at least from Amy.

Turning her phone on silent she jumped into the shower turning her music up and trying to drown out all her problems. She washed her face trying to clear off the tear stains and reduce the puffiness that had taken over her eyes. When she got out she saw there was a voicemail, it was left by Amy.

She picked up her phone and called Amy back. "Hey Amy I know that you're worried about me but don't be. I had a bad day and decided to take the night off. I'm sorry that I didn't give you three any notice. I'll see you guys tomorrow and we'll rock the house. See you soon girl."

She hung up the phone and found Shane's name in her contact list. Without thinking she hit send on her phone. She wanted to hear his voice even if was on his voicemail.

"Hello," he answered after a few rings.

"Hi Shane, am I interrupting anything?"

"Not at all sweetie, just a lonely night by myself that's all. How was your day?"

"Are you kidding? You were there remember?" She waited a minute before mentioning any more. "So how's the back?"

"It hurts pretty badly; I think I'll be sleeping on my stomach tonight." He tried to laugh but all that came out was a tiny chuckle.

"Oh Shane I am so sorry about what happened this morning. I've been crying about it all day."

"Cissy you shouldn't be crying or feel bad. None of this was your fault."

"Shane you aren't going to do anything to Paul are you? I mean you aren't going to fire him are you?"

"No I'm not going to fire him. How would it look if I fired 'the game' Triple H without being able to give a valid reason for why I did it?"

"Thank you Shane. I know that you could easily let him go."

"I won't do that no matter what he did today. But only for you and no one else I just want you to know that."

"Shane I know that today was pretty crazy and all but I just wanted to know something."

"Anything, I'm all yours tonight."

"Where does this leave us? I know that I don't want this to be the end of us. I told Paul that I don't want anything to do with him anymore. I hurt him really badly, not like it wasn't anything that he didn't deserve after what he did to you. But I want to know if there was a reason behind that. I mean I could've looked at him and told him that I would play by his rules; instead I told him that I was going to keep seeing you but I don't know if that's totally true."

"Cissy honey, I just found you there is no way that I would let you go. I'm just so scared for the both of us. I was afraid that you would walk away from me. You may not fully believe this but I would take anything that anyone wanted to throw at us."

Mercedes cried more out of tears of joy than anything else. She was sad that she couldn't touch Shane or hold him in any way but she was overjoyed that he would say that to her.

"Thank you Shane that means so much to me. I promise that I won't abandon you either."


	7. Forbidden Passions ch 7

Shane and Mercedes spent the night talking to each other trying to move past what had happened that day. The conversation was light and happy. Being drained of most emotions they both avoided what they knew would cause them to relive what they simply wanted to avoid.

Late that night Mercedes got a knock on her hotel room door. She was very confused seeing as how she didn't tell anyone besides Vince where she was staying. "Hey Shane there's a knock at my door it might be your father. I'll call you tomorrow ok?"

"Sounds good I'll be waiting all day to hear that sweet voice."

"Hope that all your meetings and whatever else go smoothly."

"Have a good night and a good day. I'll talk to you tomorrow night."

"I will and you too." Mercedes said hanging up the phone as she moved towards the door.

She opened the door to find Jeff standing there. "I know that you called in tonight which probably means that you want to be alone and depressed but I figured that you could use the company no matter how happy and normal you tried to sound on the phone," Jeff winked and smiled at her.

"Jeff Hardy two things; one how did you find out where I was staying and two I hate that you know me so well."

"I asked Vince where you were. I know I know terrible breach of trust and privacy but even he thought you needed a shoulder to lean on. And thank you very much I'd hate me too if I were that perceptive about me."

"Right whatever you say. Come on in." Mercedes stepped aside to let Jeff in. "What's in your hand?"

"A bag," Jeff said stating the blatantly obvious.

"You are a very funny man Jeff, what's inside the bag?"

"Oh, nothing other than your very favorite form of comfort food; any and every type of chocolate that is out on the market."

"You are a god send," Mercedes said taking the bag from his hands.

"That bad of a day huh?" Jeff said sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Jeff, would I honestly call in if it weren't that bad of a day?" Mercedes asked him rifling through the chocolate trying to decide what to eat first.

"Look we can sit here all night long and joke and just as I'm ready to fall asleep you can tell me what happened or we can just talk now and sort through all of this."

"You were always a man to get straight to the point Mr. Hardy."

"Yes I am now what's it going to be?"

"O.k. I'll tell you but what I tell you goes no further than us. If what I tell you gets around I'm telling you the fallout could be disastrous."

"Cedes what happened today?" Jeff asked even more concerned.

"Well for the past week or so Shane and I have started up a relationship- "

"It's about time the two of you have been dancing around your feelings for each other for a long time. I'm happy for you."

"Not so fast Jeff. There's a reason why Shane and I have danced around the issue."

"Why is that?"

"Because I made a promise to my brother that when I came here I wouldn't date any wrestlers."

"Why would you make that promise to him?"

"Because he's overprotective and irrational and bad tempered," Mercedes said.

"But what does your brother have to do with this? I mean it isn't like he is traveling around with you or anything." Jeff said still clueless to the fact that Paul was her brother.

"He has everything to do with it because he is traveling with us."

"What? Who in the world is your brother?"

"Paul," she said quietly.

"Paul? Levesque? As in Hunter Hurst Helmsley? As in Triple H?"

"All three of those would be correct. I'm his little sister."

"And you kept it quiet all this time?"

"I took on my mother's maiden name when I signed on. I didn't want people to know that we were related."

"O.k. so now I'm beginning to see the complication. What happened today though?"

"I've been having doubts about Shane and I. I wasn't sure if he thought we were even a couple. I got pretty insecure about the whole thing. I mean I'm giving up a lot to be with him and I wasn't sure that he really felt the same way about me. We went back to my hotel room and spent the night talking about everything and when he went to leave I asked him to stay. I wasn't trying to make anything happen. It's just that his company is so relaxing to me."

"Cedes we can talk about how great you think he is after you tell me what went wrong."

"Right of course. Well Paul came over this morning and saw Shane asleep in the bed. I tried to tell him that nothing happened what-so-ever but he didn't take it all that well."

"What did he do? He was in a pretty foul mood tonight."

"He attacked Shane. He threw him against the wall. Shane is pretty bad off with bruises and swelling and everything."

"He could lose his job for that."

"I know but Shane said that he would leave it alone for now. The worst part is I told Paul that I never wanted to see him again. And Shane is gone on business for a few days." Mercedes started to feel the stress of it all. "I talked to Shane and he said that what happened this morning wouldn't drive him away but how do I know that? It is one thing to say it when you're on the phone with someone; but to actually live it out? Stand there with that one person no matter what happens to you, your body, your spirit; I just don't know what's going to happen."

"No wonder you took the day of honey." Jeff pulled her into a hug. "How come you didn't tell me all of this was weighing on you until now?"

"I didn't want to burden you Jeff. Besides I know that the fewer people I tell the better off we all are."

"How long do you think it's going to be before Vince finds out what Paul did to Shane?"

"I honestly hope never or at least not until Paul has decided to retire and Shane and I are either split up or long since married."

"That's a lot to hope for. When Shane gets back people are going to notice that something happened to him."

"Jeff you won't say anything to anyone will you? I am so angry at Paul I actually punched him. But I know how much he loves his career and I don't want that to get screwed up."

"I promise that I won't say anything Cedes. Do you really think that Shane is going to come back and stay by you?"

"Oh Jeff I don't know," she ran her hands through her long curly hair. "I hope so I really hope so. We've been talking all night and he told me that he wouldn't give me up that easily. But the man has to be indestructible if he's going to be with me. How can I ask him to put himself through all of this? He was right this morning, he walked out and said that I needed to fix things with Paul and when I did he'd be there waiting. He was right for leaving then; maybe he should just stay away." Mercedes wiped her hand across her eyes to brush away the tears that were threatening to fall on her face.

"Do you want him to stay away?" Jeff asked her trying to make her realize that driving Shane away would not make things better for anyone besides Paul.

"No I don't; I want him to be here right next to me."

"And would it really fix anything?"

"No but it would keep him safe."

"Did he ask you to do that for him?"

"Of course not; He said that he would stand right by no matter what came our way."

"Then he's a very smart man. A girl like you doesn't show up very often and he'd be a fool to give you up."

"Why Jeff Hardy I do believe that you are falling for me," Mercedes said jokingly.

"Darling I could fall for you in a heart beat if I let myself. Maybe in another lifetime we'll be the greatest lovers the world has ever known," Jeff said smiling. "Cedes if Shane says that he wants to stay with you let him love. There is no one I know who deserves true happiness more than you do."

"That is why I love you so much Jeff. We are both so comfortable with each other that we can joke and talk about anything."

Mercedes reached across the bed pulling Jeff into a hug. "Thank you for coming tonight Jeff it means a lot to me. I wanted to be alone but this is much better."

"You are welcome."

The next few days passed by slowly for Shane and Mercedes. Shane spent the better part of his days in boardroom meetings and with press doing interviews and budgets and payrolls. He found himself thinking of Mercedes constantly wishing that he were able to see her smile or hear that musical laugh. There was nothing more that he wanted than to show her what he said was the truth. He only hoped that when he got back that she was still there. He didn't know exactly how things with Paul went and he didn't want to know. All he wanted to know was that Mercedes wasn't forced to leave because of something that her brother did.

"I'm flying into Texas tonight to meet up with everyone tonight, call me and maybe we can meet for dinner. My plane will be landing at about five thirty so any time after then would be great if you don't have work tonight. Call me back and let me know I miss you and I'm so excited to see you." Shane said leaving a voicemail on her phone. He wondered what she was doing that would cause her to miss his phone call.

Mercedes felt her phone ring in her pocket but picking up during a meeting with the writers and promoters was not a good move. As soon as she got out of the meeting she checked her phone upset that she missed his call.

"Hey Shane I know that you aren't going to get this until you land. I took off work the other day otherwise I would be out there meeting you right now but I have to make up an appearance and tonight is that night. Meet me at the arena and we'll get some food afterwards. I can't wait to see you either." She hung up the phone and went to get ready for the show.

"He's coming back today he's coming back!" Mercedes said happily jumping around the dressing room.

"Who is coming back?" Amy asked her.

"Shane he's coming back today."

"I didn't know that that would be such exciting news," Matt said a bit confused. "Jeff this is your supposed girlfriend do you know what's up with her?"

"Don't worry about it Matt it's nothing they are just close is all," Jeff said winking at Mercedes.

Her happiness at having Shane back brought Mercedes to a whole other level with her wrestling. She had never moved as fast or as limber as she did that night. There was no getting her out of the ring or the arena faster to meet up with Shane.

"I can't believe your back," she said jumping into his arms once she saw him standing by her dressing room.

"I know the days just dragged on." He kissed her hard and long to make up for all the times that he wanted to kiss her while they were apart. "I have something for you."

"Here?"

"No in my car, let's get out of here."

The two of them began to walk out of the arena after Mercedes had gotten her things together. They were hoping that they would be able to leave without any problems and all seemed to go well until they heard a familiar voice calling for Mercedes.

"I told you that I did not want you with him," Paul said charging them like a crazed bull.

Mercedes stepped between Shane and Paul. "You want to lose your job Paul? Touch him again and I guarantee that you will."

"Cedes- "

"This is not your life and not your choice, now turn around and leave." She whispered to him angrily.

"I'm telling you Cedes- "

"No I'm telling you Paul I am not yours to look after anymore." Mercedes didn't wait for Paul to leave this time she took Shane and walked away from him before anything else could happen. "Let's go Shane none of this is worth it."

As Mercedes turned her back Paul reached out to grab her arm instead grabbed part of Shane's shirt. And before anyone knew what was happening Shane had spun around and hit Paul straight in the jaw knocking him to the ground.


	8. Forbidden Passions ch 8

"I am going to give you one warning and one warning only Paul," Shane's eyes were fierce as he stared at Paul still on the floor in shock. "You touch me again and I will most certainly end your career so fast that you'll be standing in line at soup kitchens before you realize what has happened."

"Shane man I wasn't going to touch you. I was trying to talk to my sister!" Paul yelled standing up. "I don't know what your problem is but right now you are in the way of me and Mercedes."

"And trust me it is going to stay that way," Shane said moving in front of her to block her from Paul.

The anger was written all over Paul's face. How could anyone honestly believe that they could keep him apart from his sister? There wasn't a day that went by when they weren't together. That most certainly wasn't going to change because of some young punk that wanted in her pants. He rubbed his hand over his jaw. "Are you honestly going to stand there and let this happen Cedes? He just punched me and you stand there totally silent?"

Mercedes gently moved Shane out of the way and stood face to face with Paul. "What he just did to you was no less than what you deserve from him. You are lucky that you aren't on a plane home right now," she told him quietly. "Start something again Paul and you will be." She leaned in a bit closer to him and whispered close to his ear. "You are my brother and I don't want to see you lose the one thing that means everything to you Paul. Just leave it alone."

"You are the one thing that means everything to me," he said even softer. Paul didn't know how to stop being angry. It was the one emotion that kept him from crying. Tears had been in his eyes for days. He had run to Stephanie and confessed everything. He cried hard and long as he poured out the details of his horrible mistake. Even Stephanie found it in her heart to forgive Paul after what he had done to her very own brother. Why was it that Mercedes was staying away? It's like she believed that he had meant for things to get so heated and screwed up. But He never meant for things to escalate like this it just began to happen that way. It was hard to stop it now. When he wasn't angry he was hurting. Mercedes was the one person that had been there all his life no matter what. She had talked him into wrestling, into following his heart to where he truly wanted to go. Now here she stood telling him to walk away from her. How could this possibly be happening to him? Paul dropped his head not allowing anyone to see the true extent of what he was feeling. "You want to go with him for now fine go." His moment of weakness was over and the anger began to course through him once more. "Enjoy tonight Shane because it is one of the last nights that you will be spending with her."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Shane asked. His anger had been subdued when Mercedes had walked over to Paul. The way that she talked softly to him, and looked at him with that sisterly love in her eyes. Shane stayed calm and quiet for her sake. He knew watching him and Paul go at it would do nothing but upset her over and over again. Hearing those words from Paul brought back all the anger that Shane had refused to unleash.

"Oh buddy you know it is. No one knows better than you exactly what I am willing to do to keep my word."

"How dare you?" Shane began screaming. There was nothing that was going to keep him from saying what was going through his mind anymore. "You attacked me Paul, threw me into a wall repeatedly. You said then that I wasn't going to see her anymore. Well here I am big man. You should be down on your knees groveling to keep your job not tossing around more threats like you own me or Mercedes. I'm still here and I think you better get used to it before you put something in motion that can't be stopped."

"You want to threaten me?" Paul was inching closer to Shane looking as if he would kill Shane that instant if he could only get his hands on him. "You are taking advantage of my sister and you threaten me? You better have a big enough pair of balls to back that up man because if you don't- "

"ENOUGH!" Mercedes yelled stepping in between the two of them. "I am so sick of all this! I am a grown woman Paul and I will do as I please! And no one is making any threats or setting anything in motion." She looked back and forth between them seeing that they were now silent. "Now," she said getting quieter. "If either of you want to attack each other you will have to go through me, and god help the person that tries it." Paul and Shane slowly moved back a few steps. "And for the rest of you thinking that this is some kind of entertainment you can get back to your own lives. Go on get out of here!" She watched as the other wrestlers and stage hands starting going off in their own directions trying to make sense of what had just happened. "You too Paul, back away and go back to Steph I'm sure she's wondering where you ran off to."

"But Cedes this guy- "

"This guy is giving me a ride to the hotel and nothing more. Now move on Paul."

Mercedes took Shane's arm and began to walk towards his car. Paul stood there as if cemented to that one spot. He tried to move, to walk towards them and try to talk sense into her; to go back to Stephanie and tell her how much he was hurt and angry. But the only thing that he could do was stand there and watch his little sister walk away with a man he was sure would hurt her in the end. She didn't understand that he was trying to do what was best. He was trying to get her to see that Shane was bad news. Most McMahon's were. He couldn't include Stephanie in there but he had seen Vince and Shane work together. There was no moral line that they wouldn't cross or push back further. There was nothing to them that seemed wrong. Granted maybe Paul was exaggerating all this in his mind because he had seen Shane with his sister. But the thought made him hold tighter to his opinions. Shane would use her in the end. How could she be so blind to that? Tears began falling down his face as he realized that he just watched his baby sister walk away from their relationship. She really had ended their friendship.

There would be no more late night dinners or on the go breakfasts. She would get her own hotels and make her own arrangements. Paul had just watched the most important person in his life walk away and he was powerless to stop it from happening.

"Paul, honey what happened?" Stephanie asked walking up to him. She walked around him to see his face dazed and filled with tears. "Why are you crying?"

"She left me Steph- your brother- and she- he hit- ". Paul had finally given in to the pain that was threatening to consume him for days. It hit him hard and sent him reeling. His sobs came so fast and hard that it was hard for him to finish a sentence.

"O.k. Paul you need to calm down just a little bit. Let's get you out of here and when you feel a little better than you can tell me what happened."

Stephanie grabbed his arm and found it hard to get him to move. He seemed so detached from the rest of his body. She saw a part of him that she had rarely seen before. Sure Paul was brash and harsh and abrupt. But he was also warm and loving and passionate. To have him stand in the middle of an arena and cry like that was something that she had never known him to do.

He stayed quiet on the way to the hotel trying to get control over his emotions and his breathing. Surgery had never made him this nervous. Even the uncertainty of not knowing whether he could wrestle again didn't get this reaction out of him. He took whatever was going on his life head on and conquered it. Why was it now that he sat there with Stephanie unable to speak or move?

"It's about Mercedes and Shane isn't it Paul?" Stephanie asked him once they were sitting in the living area of the hotel room. "Talk to me Paul you've kept this inside long enough look what it's doing to you."

"I know Steph but if I stay angry then I can win this."

"Honey it isn't a battle. Shane and Mercedes are people with feelings and emotions. They care for each other."

"But he's going to hurt her."

"Paul I promise you that Shane will take the best possible care of her. And if he doesn't it is still Mercedes' choice one way or the other."

Paul's head whipped up and he experienced that frightening anger once more. "How can you say that? We're supposed to stop it from happening."

"Stop what exactly Paul? Think about it what are you going to stop? You can't stop her life and you can't stop her feelings."

"I'll stop him."

"You can't stop him either," she took his hand and looked into his eyes. "I know you love her but one day you'll have to let her go. This is that day."

"I can't do that Stephanie. That would make me helpless and I don't do helpless. That man punched me and I'm going- "

"To do nothing Paul, you attacked him and if you do again you will most certainly be retiring very early."

Paul sighed. He knew that Stephanie was right. There was nothing that he could physically do. He wouldn't be able to make Mercedes give up Shane because he said so. He knew that would never work. She was far too stubborn for that. But there most certainly was something that he could. There were still ways that he could show Mercedes the type of man that Shane was. Make her see that he was still her big brother and he was always going to look out for her; even if she didn't want him to. He would fix this and finish what he started. Because if there was one thing that he was not good at doing it was sitting in the background doing nothing and he certainly was never good at feeling helpless.


	9. Forbidden Passions ch 9

"Shane why did you have to start with him back there?" Mercedes yelled at Shane on the way back to the car. She was still shaken up and angry about what had happened.

"Cissy will you please calm down a bit? I did not mean to start anything."

"He's right though Shane, I should have been standing there with Paul I mean you punched him!"

"Have you forgotten what he did to me?" Shane began getting upset why was it that she was one way five minutes before.

"No Shane I didn't forget I was there remember? But you are supposed to be the bigger man here. You have seen Paul's temper and you know how he can get real fast. Why would you think hitting him was a good idea?"

"I wasn't thinking that. I was thinking of protecting myself against him. And why are you suddenly sticking up for him?"

Mercedes stopped at the car door and for the first time looked at Shane. "Because he's my brother," she said quietly with tears running down her face once more.

Shane saw the hurt all over Mercedes and walked over to her. "I'm so sorry, I know I must be an idiot. Look I have a lot of flaws and they are going to get in the way of what's best for you every so often. But don't for a second think that it takes away from how much I love you. I wasn't thinking. I was trying to hold back but you're right. I was the one that started back there. Would you like me to apologize to him?"

"No it'd be a bad idea to be within a hundred feet of him right now."

"You think he's angry?"

"I don't know but probably." She knew her brother better than anyone and she knew that no matter how much he yelled and screamed he loved her more than anything. She also knew that no matter what happened he wasn't angry, he was hurting. Why shouldn't he be? She began to think. There her brother stood and she could see the weakness in his eyes before they were replaced with fury. She could see that he was simply covering up what he did not want to give in to. But instead of staying with him she walked away.

"God why did I walk away?" she said quietly to herself.

"Did you say something?"

"No Shane, let's just get back to the hotel." She told him and began to stare out of the window in the car.

"You know you haven't said a word to me since you got into the car." Shane said as they walked to her hotel room.

"I know I'm sorry. I'm just tired and I've had a bad night."

"Would you like me to stay- "

"No," she said cutting him off. "I just think that I need a bit of time tonight." She smiled at him. "I really just think I need a night to be by myself."

"Okay. If that's what you think would be best." He kissed her cheek and walked away. Shane knew Mercedes well but talking about her relationship with Paul was something that they never touched on. He silently cursed himself for what happened back in the arena. As much as he wanted to blame it on Paul it was his fault. He had been wanting some form of revenge since Paul had attacked him and he took the first shot that he could without a second thought.

Had Shane known anything of Mercedes relationship with Paul he would have seen the hurt that was slowly beginning to wear her down. She sat on her bed wanting to call Paul, wanting to call Amy, wanting to call Jeff. There wasn't a number that she didn't think of dialing, but in the end she decided to stay to herself. How could she explain to anyone what was going through her head? She was angry and hurt and felt guilty. She was angry that Paul could not simply let her make her own choices, angry that she had to fall for Shane for all people. She knew that Paul was not particularly fond of Shane but why she never knew. She was hurt by the fact that Paul was so angry with her, that Shane understood none of it and that she would never be able to have a good relationship unless her brother stood behind her. How would Paul ever fall in line with this? How could he possibly tell her that he gave her his blessing? Her heart ripped in two, one piece belonging to Paul and the other to Shane. She had never done anything that Paul did not support her on. Now she was on her own; and although it was what she wanted it was not the way that she wanted it.

And lastly she had started to feel guilty. Paul was right when he told her that she should be there by Paul's side. She should have immediately put Shane in his place. Although Shane was important to her he had not yet earned all the respect that Mercedes had for Paul. Not to say that Shane wasn't becoming someone in her life that she wanted around no matter what. It was simply the fact that sometimes blood is thicker than water. And although she had more than half a mind to go run to Paul and give in to all of his outlandish demands she stayed right where she was crying and hoping that the daylight would afford a bit more clarity than this night was giving her.

She saw that her phone was ringing non-stop; everyone curious to find out what had happened between the three to argue as they had. She sighed deeply as she saw that her dearest friends were relentless in their quest for answers and turned off her phone. Tonight was not for explanations, tonight was simply about trying to get control on everything that had been building inside of her. She wanted so badly to sit there and talk to someone. But there was no one that she could tell that would give her the advice that she wanted. She needed to be alone; for at least this night before she went to face all the questions and odd looks.

Mercedes was half asleep when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find a very upset Stephanie.

"Steph?"

"Mercedes right now you are here to listen to what I have to say. Now trust me I'm not upset with you because I know how it is when you want to be with someone but can't because everyone around you seems to be against it." Mercedes sat down and listened to Stephanie thinking that some of what she was talking about had to deal with Paul. Mercedes was never told the full story of the two of them; Paul seemed to either get extremely angry or nearly break down at the thought.

"I don't know what happened to night; Paul is such a wreck that he can't even bring himself to tell me what happened."

"Really?" Merecedes heart sank inside of her knowing that it was rare to have Paul completely break down.

"Yes, and I frankly don't care what happened. I know Shane's temper and I know Paul's as well. That isn't what I'm here for." Stephanie edged closer to Mercedes and took her hands. "You need to talk to him. I barely got him back to the hotel. He hasn't stopped crying no matter how angry he is. You know that you are his center. If you leave him like this it's just a matter of time before he falls apart."

"Steph what am I supposed to tell him? What he wants to hear I can't tell him. It doesn't even have to deal with Shane. I mean if I leave Shane now who will I be leaving next? I just want a chance to see this through."

"Cedes I am not asking you to give up Shane. I'm not even asking you to tell Paul what he wants to hear. I am trying to get you to talk to him. He has been holding in so much and I'm afraid for him. I think this is the first time that I have honestly been afraid. He's losing so much of himself and I know that it's going to backfire in a bad way. Please Cedes swallow a bit of pride and talk to him."

Mercedes nodded. "I'll talk to him."

"Thank you."

Stephanie left Mercedes to deal with her confusion. Now her guilt was at an all time high. She knew it. She saw the deep hurt that was in Paul's eyes at the arena. There was a quick moment of weakness that she saw in him and it wasn't imagined. How could she have ignored it so easily? Sure she thought that she was a bit hard on herself but there was no reason not to be. This was her brother; he was her center as well. There was nothing that she could do about that. He would always be a part of her life, always be the man that she loved most. Oh of course she would love others in different ways. But there would never be anything compared to what she felt for her brother. Family was everything to Mercedes and she needed to let that be known to Paul as well as to Shane.

She got up and walked down to Paul's room. It was best if she didn't leave this for too long. She needed to let Paul know that she was just as broken as he was. She needed to let Shane know that he had to deal with all of this for a bit longer if he truly wanted her. She needed her family beside her and Paul was one of the few left from her small family.

Paul opened the door shocked to see Mercedes standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry Paul," she said to him hugging him. "Let's not fight anymore ok?"

"Come on in we'll talk." Mercedes could see the swollen tired eyes and the tear stains still on Paul's face. But there was also a smile on his face that seemed to detract from the disheveled and painful look that he had on.

"Only if you agree that you don't tell me to stop seeing Shane. I'm not here to tell you that I'm leaving him. I'm here to try to tell you that you were right. I should have put Shane in his place for hitting you just like I did you when you attacked him. You are my big brother and I don't ever want that to change."

"Then you need to realize that I will always be here to protect you even when you don't want it."

"Please Paul I don't want a war."

"Cedes that's what you don't understand. IF you get involved with someone like Shane you are- "

"Paul I told you I'm not here for that. I am here to talk about how to fix things between you and me."

"Cedes if you won't listen to me then I can tell you that you and I will still have problems."

Mercedes sighed knowing that things would turn out this way. Paul was always so stubborn.

"Ok listen we'll sit down and talk. We can make things a bit better than us and I promise that I won't do anything else to start fights."

Mercedes smiled and nodded walking into the hotel hoping that things would be a lot better when the two finished talking.


	10. Forbidden Passions ch 10

"Hey where were you all last night?" Amy asked Mercedes when she finally answered the phone. "I was trying to call and make sure you were okay. Jeff and I were really worried."

"I went to talk to Paul for most of the night. So how many people know about what happened last night?" Mercedes asked afraid to find out the answer.

"Just about everyone, they were exactly subtle about the fact that they had personal problems."

"Great that's just what I need."

"What everyone is still unclear on is why it happened. And I have a feeling that Jeff knows something because any time anyone would mention it he'd shrug and look away. Now anyone who knows Jeff knows that is because he doesn't want to have to make up some lame lie."

Good old Jeff, Mercedes thought to herself. He never betrayed her trust. When he said something he stuck to it without any reservations.

"It's complicated Amy and I can't really talk about it now. I promise I'll fill you in later on. Just tell Jeff that I'm fine and there is nothing to worry about."

"I wish that I could do that but with last night- "

"Please Amy, just do it for me. I'm going to be fine and so will everything else."

"Ok, ok I hear you. I'll tell him. But I won't be the only one asking. Everyone else is confused as well."

"And for now it will stay that way." Mercedes heard a knock at the door and looked at the time. "Oh Amy I have to go, I'll see you tonight."

Mercedes ran to open the door. She had such a long night that she was off to a very slow start and didn't realize just how late she was running.

"Hey are you ready to get going?" Shane asked waiting at the door.

"I'm running a bit behind give me five minutes."

"You never run later you're like Ms. Punctuality what's up?"

"I just had a long night not like you wouldn't know that."

"Hey Cissy, are you still mad about last night?" Shane asked seeing that she was not very friendly this morning.

"Yes and no. I know that you didn't mean to do it Shane, just like I know Paul didn't mean to do what he did to you."

"So then what's wrong?" He asked. He still would not fully believe that Paul didn't plan on attacking Shane again. He knew Paul, had a long history with him and he had seen the worst of the man.

"He's my brother Shane, my family. I need him, no matter how stupid you may think it is he's my center, my world."

"Cissy after what he's done to you? After what he's done to us you still want to defend him?"

"Yes Shane I do and I always will. This is what you need to understand Shane. You may want me to leave him behind and tell him that I don't want to be around him anymore but it won't happen."

"Why on God's green earth won't you? I thought that we said that we'd stay together through this."

"I didn't say that I was leaving you Shane. I'm still here but he is my family, and without him my life doesn't make sense. I need him and he needs me."

"And how do you know this for sure?"

"I spent the night with him."

"You what? I thought you said that you needed time alone."

"I did, and I spent time by myself crying and completely torn about what to do. Stephanie came by and talked to me about how broken up he was and asked me to talk to him."

"She what?" Shane was about to concentrate on the fact that Stephanie had been pulling for Paul until he realized what Mercedes had said. Torn about what to do? Why was she torn? "Torn about what to do? Cissy what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means nothing Shane," Mercedes finished packing up her things and grabbed her bags. "Let's go I have a lot of work to do today."

"What's it mean Mercedes? I thought you knew that you wanted me."

"Shane I am not going through this now."

"Yes you are. I want to know what's going on with you."

"Nothing Shane everything is fine. I felt bad about my brother and I fixed things with him so it's ok."

"Like you told him you wouldn't date me?"

"What? Shane how could you possibly think that?"

"You said that was the only thing that would make him happy."

"Shane we'll talk later right now I have to get to the arena and if you won't take me I'll find someone else."

"No I'll take you."

The ride to the arena was once more filled with silence. Mercedes wanted to explain everything to Shane but knew that in the m

The ride to the arena was once more filled with silence. Mercedes wanted to explain everything to Shane but knew that trying to do it in the middle of a work day was not a good idea. She could only sit there and wonder how much heat would come down on the three of them for what happened the night before.

"Hey Cissy, have a great show. I'll see you after ok?" Shane said hugging her.

"Thanks Shane, you too," she kissed his cheek and walked into the dressing room to see Matt, Jeff, and Amy already sitting around figuring out the night's matches.

"Anything that I can do to help out here?" She asked trying to take her mind off of what was truly troubling her.

Jeff walked over and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry sweetie, I know that it's hard for you. I wish that I could do something."

For a quick moment Mercedes was overcome with emotion. It had been the first time in days that she had been given a hug; that someone had told her that they were there for her and only her. She buried her face in his shirt beginning to cry. She realized what she was doing after Jeff's shirt had been wet with her tears and stained with her make up.

"I'm sorry about your shirt."

"Cedes don't you worry about that now. I heard about what happened last night, you know I'm here if you need me."

"You are a wonderful boyfriend." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "If I do this now I'll never be good for the show. So what's the plan for tonight?"

Mercedes spent the night dodging questions about Paul and Shane. Not that she wasn't friends with most of the people asking, but she didn't need to have her business plastered everywhere. The quieter she kept all of it the less of a chance that Vince had heard of anything. And the last thing she needed would be Vince to know and stir up more trouble.

"You seem pretty spacey tonight." Jeff said as they waited to make their entrance to the ring.

"I've just got a lot going on. And I am so worried that Vince is going to call me into his office at anytime and fire me or something."

"Aww, Cedes that is not going to happen. You are the best diva around and he wouldn't get rid of you. Make things a lot more complicated maybe, but definitely not fire you."

"Thanks Jeff that makes me feel so much better since complication is more of what I need right now."

Jeff smiled and laughed. "Let's just wrestle and think about nothing other than our match."

"Sounds good, and remember, if you want any more kisses than the ones planned give me warning."

"As always," Jeff winked and walked out right before her.

Mercedes wondered that night why she was not pulled into Vince's office, why there was nothing said about what had happened between the three the night before. It made no sense that Vince would let it slide. He had never stood for his employees brawling backstage. Sure Paul was his son in law but that didn't mean that Vince would not say anything to him. It had bothered Mercedes so much that she didn't know whether or not to be relieved or just anxious until Vince did say something.

Mercedes looked for Shane at the end of the show, if nothing else she needed to finish what they had started talking about before the show.

"Cissy, sorry were you waiting long for me?" Shane ran up to her out of breath.

"Now just looking around for you, what were you doing that you are all out of breath?" She asked very curious.

"I just had a lot of errands to do and I wanted to get back before you thought I disappeared on you. Let's go."

"Hey Shane, do you think it's weird that your dad didn't say anything about what happened last night?" She asked as they drove to the hotel.

"Not really, I don't think he knows what happened, he wasn't around last night, and he left early had some business to take care of."

Mercedes said nothing after that just sat thinking it over. She still didn't believe that Vince didn't know. It wasn't like him to not know everything that happened backstage. The man was always up to speed on his superstars why wouldn't he be the same way with his very own son? Something inside bothered her. Nothing about the entire situation seemed right.

She was so lost in thoughts that she didn't realize she had walked right passed the front desk.

"Oh Shane wait up I have to check in."

"Nope, already done, just follow me."

"What's going on?"

"It's a surprise and I'm not going to tell because all you have to do is wait five minutes to find out."

Mercedes stayed quiet watching as Shane brought her to a room.

"Why did you check in for me? It doesn't make any sense."

"Open the door and find out."

Mercedes slid in the door key and opened the door. "Shane what is all this?" She looked around and saw her room lined with flowers and candles.

"I just wanted to say sorry for acting like I did before. I was being an idiot and adding more stress onto you that you don't need."

"Thank you so much." She grabbed his face and kissed him. "Were you planning on getting lucky tonight?"

"No just hoping that I could." He smiled as she playfully punched him. "I'm joking, I really just wanted to say sorry."

Mercedes smiled at him, she would have loved to have him right then and there but something stopped her. She didn't quite know what it was, she just knew that she held herself back. This was a new and different Shane she was looking at. He was still just as sweet and loving to her as before. That hadn't changed, but she felt like he was hiding something and couldn't shake it. She knew every facial expression that he had and although she knew that he wasn't lying to her she knew that he wasn't tell her everything. It was just a matter of finding out exactly what it was.


	11. Forbidden Passions ch 11

Mercedes reluctantly opened her eyes the next morning. The night had been absolutely wonderful and exactly what was needed. There was nothing spectacular or fancy about what the two did that night. But Shane stayed with her and held. He stroked her hair and kissed her head. He sat and listened intently to every word that came out of Mercedes mouth. Once she had finished explaining all that she felt that night Shane understood it perfectly. He had the same feelings about Stephanie and Paul. In fact so did his father. He had made Paul's life complete hell hoping that Paul would give up on Stephanie. Some of the things that he did weren't the nicest or even the most moral, but he did them in the best interest of Stephanie. Now he couldn't help feel that Paul was getting his revenge. Shane did not believe that whatever Paul was doing was because he was overprotective of Mercedes. Shane believed full force that it was because all of those years ago. But Shane said nothing, just sat and listened to her speak. Wondering all along if that was anything like what his sister was going through in the beginning of her relationship with Paul.

The fact that Mercedes and Stephanie could practically switch places and feel the same was heart breaking for Shane. Had he ever once stopped and considered Stephanie's feelings while he was trying everything to keep her and Paul apart? Of course he did, that's why he did what he did. Paul was never the right guy for her and that isn't going to change. But if Stephanie felt the way Mercedes did then why had Shane never seen Stephanie cry? She couldn't have been that upset. But when has Mercedes cried in front of Paul? Shane thought about it and realized that no matter what was going on she maintained her composure and stayed calm throughout everything.

The thoughts of his past with Paul and Stephanie sent Shane into a fitful sleep causing him to be awake long before Mercedes.

"Shane, what are you doing up so early?"

Shane was snapped out of all his thoughts and looked at Mercedes shifting herself to lean against his chest.

"I just had a bad night's sleep nothing to worry about." He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well I guess, but I've been so stressed out that it's hard for me to not just knock out and sleep."

"Well we don't really have to be up for another hour, you can get a bit more sleep."

"No, I'm up now," Mercedes stretched and figured that she would have to voice what was on her mind and there would never be a better time. "Shane, are you not telling me something?"

"What?" He asked a bit shocked that she would ask such a question.

"Are you hiding something from me?" She sat up and faced him. Seeing the look of confusion on his face she began to explain. "I've been around your family a long while, and in this business for a bit. I know that Vince lets nothing escape his notice. Something doesn't seem right about him not doing anything about the other night."

"What does that have to do with me?" Shane asked a bit hurt. There was nothing that he had ever done to make her doubt him.

"You know every move your father makes, and I know you. There is something between the two of you that isn't right, and I can't put my finger on. I just want to know if you are hiding something from me."

"Cissy, what would I have to hide from you?" Shane pulled her back down onto his chest. "I've done things in my past that I'm not all that proud of but there is no reason for you not to trust me."

Mercedes nodded and sighed. "I know that, and I do trust you. I just don't have a good feeling about this. I would be happier if Vince had brought us into his office and screamed himself hoarse."

"I much prefer him quiet," Shane said with a bit of a laugh. "Cissy, I have to ask you something now."

"What?"

"With all of this happening have you ever cried in front of Paul?"

Mercedes was confused by the question. Why would Shane want to know that? "Only after you said good bye to me that one day, I was afraid that I wasn't going to see you again. I started crying right there in the hallway, but stopped once I got back to the hotel room. Well I tried to stop anyway. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that there was trouble between you and I. He wanted you to run scared and I did not want him to know that he might have made it happen. When people wrong me I hate to let them see me go weak. It's what they are waiting for. They wait to see your insecurity and then exploit it for all that it is worth."

"That's because you are a wonderful strong woman." Shane said tightening his hold on her. She was so much like Stephanie. He had never seen Stephanie cry, never saw the hurt and the stress that she went through. But then again she barely spoke to Shane through that whole period. She had kept her distance trying to convince her brother and father that she wanted to be with Paul. Trying to tell them that he was everything that she wanted and needed and there wasn't going to be anyone else.

"Shane are you in there?" Mercedes asked waving her hand in front of his face. "Earth to Shane, Shane, earth to Shane."

"What? Sorry I got lost in some thoughts of my own. Hey let's go get some really good breakfast. I could go for some good pancakes."

"Sounds good to me," Mercedes smiled and hopped off the bed. "At least this way we aren't rushing to the arena."

The morning went well for both Shane and Mercedes. But there was still something that bothered Mercedes. Her head that she could trust Shane and there was no reason to not believe him, but her gut was telling her that something was wrong. She tried to ignore it the best that she could to have a good time with Shane. He was truly turning out to be someone that Mercedes would love to spend the rest of her life with. The more that she got to know him the more that she thought Paul had the wrong idea of him. She was never able to get out why Paul was so against her and Shane. The man was his brother in law. And for the most part Shane and Paul had a decent civil relationship. She could not understand why if Paul had a decent relationship with Shane he would go berserk seeing her and Shane together. There was never a real explanation from Paul and she knew that she would get the same from Shane. Maybe though it was possible to get it from Stephanie. She needed to know the answers. The longer she left it alone the more it ate at her. Nothing seemed to go right now. Sure she had Shane on her arm, but now she couldn't fully trust him. There was something that he was holding back and she knew it. Why wouldn't he just be honest with her?

Mercedes heart ripped into pieces going in all sorts of directions. Who was she going to talk to about all of it? Paul was her everything when it came to advice, but he was part of the problem now. There was absolutely no way she could go to him and tell him that she was sure Shane wasn't being fully honest. She could hear his cynical laugh and his voice dripping with sarcasm. And she could hear the obvious "told you so" coming from his mouth.

"Hey Cedes you've been quiet the entire time we've been figuring out this match," Jeff said bringing her back to reality. She had been so caught up in whether or not Shane was trustworthy that she hadn't realized that she was at work.

"I'm sorry I guess I've been elsewhere in my mind."

"Do you want to talk about anything? I mean with me or Amy?" Jeff asked quietly studying her face.

"No I'm fine. I'm just a little slow today that's all."

"Okay if you're sure then I won't push it." Jeff knew that Mercedes didn't just talk whenever you asked her to, and the more you pressured the more she resisted. But he also knew that his friend was hurting more than she would let on.

A knock on the door interrupted any thoughts or talk from everyone in the room.

"Come on in," Jeff called.

A stagehand opened the door holding some papers. "Sorry to interrupt but Mercedes I'm supposed to give you this."

"Is this for tonight?" She asked extremely confused.

"No, not for tonight but Vince said you needed to get it tonight."

"Oh alright thanks," she said taking the papers from the guys hand.

"So what is it all about?" Jeff asked as he looked over the papers. He watched as her eyes grew wide and full of anger and pure rage. "What's wrong?"

"This- this is my personal life being played out in the ring!" she yelled.

"What?"

"Paul tells me to leave you, I do it for your own good. Shane comforts me and I wind up helping him with the whole invasion story line. Jeff it's all in here from fighting backstage to heart to hearts with Paul."

"Mercy let me see that," Amy said walking over to her. "How could anyone know about this? The only people that know are you and Shane and Paul."

"Shane," Mercedes whispered walking out of the dressing room leaving her three friends confused about what was happening.

"Cedes," she heard a deep voice boom behind her. "Cedes wait up!" She spun around on her heels coming face to face with a livid Paul. "Did you get these?" He asked holding up his outline for the newest story line.

"I just got them Paul, but how would anyone know?"

"How else Cedes, Shane, it was Shane. I told you to not let him anywhere near you. I told you staying away from him is for your own good."

"No Paul I can't believe that. There has to be another explanation."

"Mercedes wake up! He's done this before and he won't hesitate to do it again."

"When Paul? When has he done this before?"

"With Stephanie his very own sister," Paul said so seriously that Mercedes knew he wasn't making anything up.

"What?"

"When him and Vince found out about Steph and I they were none too happy. Vince didn't want her dating anyone in the business and Shane and I didn't really like each other that much."

"That I know Paul, so what?"

"So Shane went through every measure he knew to break us apart. I mean everything. He would set me up in compromising positions and then tell Stephanie that I was just this horrible guy. All those storylines with me and her was all Shane's idea. He figured the more he messed with everything the faster he could tear us apart. Stephanie would come crying to me every night, telling me the things that he would say to her. He would down right lie about me, and about things that would happen."

"He wouldn't do that- "

"Cedes he did and he will again. I let it go a long time ago because I love Steph and her family means so much to her. He was foolish and head strong but that doesn't mean that he still isn't just as manipulative and cruel as before. Stephanie never cried to anyone but me, and I'll never forgive him for making her like that all those nights. And I know that Vince loves his daughter and his family more than anything else but he can talk anyone into anything. And he was the reason that Stephanie and I had to struggle with those story lines. We had to watch our personal lives being played out on every Monday night RAW that there was."

"And now it's happening again." Mercedes said quietly. The tears came to her eyes. She knew that Paul had left out specific details trying to make his point clear.

"I don't want you suffering like this Mercedes. Please just go home and wait till all this blows over."

"No," she said angrily. "I am not going to run away. I love this business Paul, just as much as you do and I am not going to walk away from it. If this is the way that Vince wants it then he'll get it." She looked down at the floor trying to compose herself. She was going to talk to Shane about all this. He would most certainly have to explain everything to her, But she didn't' want to walk in there screaming and losing her temper. "Have to admit, it does make one great story," she said with a laugh and a clear tone of resentment.

Paul could think of nothing else to say to her. She was stronger than he ever gave her credit for. And he was never more proud of her than at that moment. "Then let's do it," he said hugging her.

She nodded and pulled away. "I have to go find a certain someone."

"I know you do, just don't make it too messy," he said smiling at her. As much as Paul hated to admit it Mercedes was more like him than she should have been. Her temper was just as heated and scary as his. As she walked away he saw a resemblance to himself. She seemed as if she was bringing all of hell with her. "Give her a sledgehammer and you've got me," he said to himself laughing.

"Shane would you like to explain this?" she said barging into his office not caring that sitting there with him were two WCW wrestlers.

"Cissy I'm a bit busy with- "

"No," She said loudly. "Not any more you aren't you're dealing with me now."

She stood there for a moment quiet hoping that Shane would clear his office or walk outside with her. When he noticed that no one moved she spoke again. "Excuse us boys, I hate to interrupt business but see there's a bit of a problem I've got my personal spilled all over onto these pages here. And I'd like to know why I have to spill my business all over that ring. Now if you two don't mind I'd really like to have just a couple of minutes with Shane here before I bloody him to an unrecognizable mess."

Noticing that the tension had all of a sudden reached an unbearable point the two wrestlers quietly excused themselves and left Shane and Mercedes alone.

"You can't just break up my meetings," Shane said trying his best to avoid the true problem.

"I can when I get this garbage," she threw the papers on his desk. "Oh don't worry I'll go along with it I'd just like to know exactly how it all got started."

"You know dad, he sees- "

"Shane, don't lie. There is more detail in here than your father could possibly think of. Where did it come from?"

"Me," he said simply.

"How could you?"

"Dad came to me with it. Told me that it was going to happen either way whether or not I helped him."

"And you just decided to help him?" She asked hurt and annoyed. "This is our life together. The beginning of our friendship, Shane this is my life."

"And it's my life too, you just have to deal with it."

"Just like Stephanie and Paul did too right?" Mercedes grabbed her papers and left his office. She couldn't believe that Shane had just said that to her. Some of her most intimate feelings were about to be exploited and there was not a sign of remorse or compassion. He stood there in front of her heartless and expressionless. She ran to the nearest restroom needing a place to unleash all of her emotions. Feeling betrayed and angry she threw herself into a stall letting herself fall apart for the first time since her world had plunged into chaos. Her body fell limp as slowly one by one her tears drained her energy and her will to fight. She was tired of fighting and tired of being strong. She wanted someone at night to hold her close and whisper that it would all be fine. But she didn't want just anyone. She wanted Shane by her side fighting off the world, she never expected that he would help them tear her to pieces.

She didn't know what exactly she wanted from him when she went to see him. What was she expecting? Remorse? No not exactly that. A bit of sympathy maybe? No it was more than that. She wanted empathy, a man that was a fighter. A man that would take her in his arms and shield her from the beatings that life liked to give her. She wanted Shane to take up for his mistakes and tell her that whatever it took he would right them all. She never thought he would sit there in front of her telling her that business was business.

Wave after wave of broken sobs racked her body as she stayed alone in the bathroom. Tear after tear broke her further and further down. She had cried so much that she didn't even know who it was that took her from the bathroom back to the dressing room with Jeff. She was not even sure who had called Paul who had simply wrapped his arms around her and held her till her tears subsided. And even when her tears stopped her soul tore in pieces. It seemed to masquerade itself as physical pain as she tried to keep herself calm. A thousand tiny knives seemed to stick through her chest keeping her short of breath.

"What happened Cedes?" Paul asked her when he thought that she was calm enough to at least spit out a few words.

"He- he- he didn't even apologize. He sa- said it was him. Said that I- I- I have to deal with it and mo- move on."

"It's ok baby, I'll help you do that. You and I, we'll get through all this together." Paul said stroking her hair. "We're fighters and we'll come out of this better than ever."

Mercedes nodded before blackness took over her. She had cried for so long and so hard that her body could no longer take any more strain. Paul's heart broke looking at his broken hearted sister. She wasn't prepared for such a blow. He cried for a bit staring at her tear stained face. This time fighting would do him no good. He would try and help his sister the best he could to get through everything and show Shane McMahon exactly what he and his sister were made of.

"I have a match to do Jeff, but I want you to look after her. She's had enough for one day so make sure no one comes in and bothers her with anything."

"Paul, you aren't going to do anything- "

"Violent?" Paul said finishing Jeff's sentence. "No not at all. If I am going to fix any of this I need to be here, so Shane is lucky because otherwise I would rip him limb from limb."


	12. Forbidden Passions ch 12

Mercedes did not open her eyes until she felt a burst of chilly fresh air blow over her face. She opened her eyes to find that she was snuggled against Jeff's chest.

"What's happening?" she asked trying to figure out exactly where she was and what was going on.

"Hey Cedes," Jeff smiled down at her still carrying her.

"Hi Jeff, not to be rude or anything but why are you carrying me?"

"The show was over and you were still passed out so I carried you to the car and now here we are at the hotel."

"The show is over? Oh no, I was supposed to go out with you tonight."

"Vince understood why you didn't. He knew the new story line would hit you hard."

"Oh, that, I was hoping that it would all just be one bad dream; but then again it never is."

"Mercedes don't think about that now. Anyway I told him what happened between you and Shane and he was fine giving you one night off. Wasn't like you were supposed to get involved or anything."

"Jeff," Mercedes looked up at Jeff who still hadn't bothered to put her down. "You can put me down now, I am awake."

"Oh right," Jeff gave a crooked smile and blushed a bit. He knew that she was awake he was just simply enjoying having her snuggled up against him. They had been friends for years but he had never had the chance to hold her the way he was now. He put her down and made sure that she was able to stand before taking his arms off her waist. "Sorry, you're light and I just- " he trailed off not knowing what to say.

"Thank you Jeff," she reached up and kissed his cheek. "Would you mind staying with me tonight? I'd really prefer that I'm not alone tonight."

"Maybe Paul could come by; he's been really worried about you."

"No, he has Stephanie and I don't want to keep interfering with their time alone. Besides he'll try to do that whole big brother thing."

"What 'big brother thing'?" Jeff asked. He was trying to find a reason to say no. Mercedes had always had something that Jeff found attractive but Jeff simply ignored it. He had seen Mercedes and Shane and knew that they had feelings for each other. And Jeff always felt that they would always be better friends than anything else. But holding her in his arms all night long brought something alive inside of him. Something that Jeff was afraid to feel for her.

"Ya' know try to talk to me about what happened, and make sure that I'm feeling ok."

"And that's a bad thing why? Cedes you passed out from everything you went through tonight, you need someone there to make sure you're ok."

"I know that Jeff, and you can do that for me. Jeff you're the only one that I have left, please stay with me."

The look in Mercedes eyes said more than she ever could. Jeff stared at her for a minute seeing the look of a frightened child. How had he never seen it before? She was always so put together and so strong. But standing in front of him was no more than a hurt and needy girl. She needed someone to be with her and tell her that things would get better. How could he deny her the one thing that she needed most?

"Alright Cedes I'll stay tonight. But don't you get used to it." He smiled at her and took her hand. He didn't know why he did it, but it was comforting to both of them as they walked into the hotel together.

"Jeff," Mercedes said once they were asleep in bed with the lights out. A soft mumble from the other side of the bed told her that Jeff was almost asleep. "I just remembered I never said thank you, for everything tonight."

"There's nothing to say thank you for," he said quietly.

"No but there is," she turned to face him. "Everyone always assumes that I can take care of myself and that I never need anyone to help me. But you never did, you were always there to take care of me. Even when I didn't ask for it. I've never had anyone but Paul do that for me before. If I don't say thank you for that then- "

"Mercy you don't have to thank me for that, I love you and I'll always be here when you need me. Now get some sleep it's late and it's been a very long day."

"I've had a very long nap, and now I'm not that tired."

Jeff opened his eyes and looked at her smiling at him. "Well I haven't, and now I need to get some sleep. We've got another long day tomorrow."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Sleep too."

"But I told you I'm not really tired."

"Mercy you've been crying all night, your body is still reeling from it. If you let yourself relax then you'll fall asleep."

Jeff really was tired, he had a hard night and only wanted to get a bit more rest than usual. Not only that but, there was something about having Mercedes lay next to him that relaxed him. He was lost in his thoughts of how warm she was and how she always smelled like gentle flowers. He had stared at her all night long, his heart aching for her. Not only because he knew that she was in pain, but because he knew that he wanted to be with her. The feelings had been growing inside of him for some time. He knew that she deserved more than what Shane was giving her. And Jeff wanted to be the one to give it to her.

"Jeff?"

"Yes Mercedes," he was trying not to get annoyed, but she was starting to test his patience.

"Don't be mad at me ok? I just wanted to ask you if it was ok if I snuggled against you, it makes me relaxed."

Jeff couldn't help but smile and let out a bit of a laugh. "How could I possibly be mad at someone as sweet as you? Come here," he opened his arms and let her get comfortable before wrapping his arms around her. "You can stay here for as long as you want."

"I just wish that today could've gone so much better. I mean it started out great and that just kind of went down from there."

"Don't worry Mercy, things will be better tomorrow. It's going to be alright. We'll make sure of it." Jeff whispered. He kissed the top of her head and went off to sleep.

Mercedes' heart skipped a beat when he kissed the top of her head. She wasn't even fully sure if Jeff had kissed her head or not. But if he had, why had he? Jeff was an amazing friend to her, and he had stayed over nights with her when she was having a bad day. But he had never kissed her in any way. She had never even spent the night cuddled up with him. Why was he lying here with her wrapped in his arms? Why was he telling her everything that she needed and wanted to hear from Shane? Mercedes snuggled herself deeper into Jeff's chest and fell asleep once more wondering why Jeff was going so far out of his way to make sure that she was comfortable and getting through the night without any more incidents.

When Jeff opened his eyes the next morning he realized that Mercedes was no longer in bed with him. Panic ran through him wondering where she was and what had happened that made her leave. But before he could get too overworked he heard the shower and smelled a scent so familiar to him that the smallest hint of it would send a million memories of Mercedes into his mind. He stood by the door listening to her humming to herself and taking in the wonderful smell of jasmine and roses coming through the door. He debated on whether or not he should go in or not. He knew if he went in he would startle her for a minute or two. What he didn't want was Mercedes thinking that he had crossed the line. The simple thought of being within ten feet of Mercedes unclothed sent a heat surging through his body that he hadn't felt in a long time. Every male primitive impulse was telling him to bust in and rip back the shower curtain. This in the end was why Jeff decided that it would be a bad idea to just walk into the bathroom while Mercedes was showering. But he couldn't pull himself from the bathroom door. There was something about listening to Mercedes humming and smelling the scent of her body wash that kept Jeff right by the door unable to move any farther.

"Hey Mercy," Jeff knocked on the door after a few minutes of listening to her singing bits and pieces of different songs. "Mercy," he said louder hoping that she would hear him. "I'm coming in alright? I just want to wash off my face a bit before I get going for the day."

He figured that she heard him when he opened the door and no scream came from her.

She was still singing, and to Jeff it sounded sad and soul wrenching. He barely paid attention to the words but in her voice he heard the heart ache she was experiencing. Every sound that came out of mouth was full of pain. He knew that she wasn't crying, but hearing her almost brought tears to his own eyes.

"Are you feeling a bit better today?" he asked. He heard a small scream and watched the shower curtain pull back a bit. "Sorry I knocked and everything, I was trying not to scare you."  
"It's ok I was really zoned out I wasn't paying attention to anything really." A smile crossed her mouth and she began to blush a bit making Jeff's heart skip. "How long have you been there?"

"Honestly I've been listening to you for a while now."

"Oh God, I didn't realize. I never sing in front of people. I know I sound horrible."

"No actually I was thinking you sound pretty sad."

Mercedes disappeared behind the shower curtain once more before saying anything. She was sad, she was more than sad. She was broken and crushed. There was nothing but pain and regret inside of her. The echoes of everything she should have done and should have said deafened her to any rational thoughts. She found it hard to believe that how she was feeling was anything less than her own fault. Had she not shown Shane her weaker side he would have never been able to hurt her as deep as she was hurting now.

"I'm feeling better today," she was lying down to the very core of her. But she wanted it to be true so badly that she would say it over and over until it began to ring true. "I had a hard night last night, a hard few weeks really, but I'm doing better."

The silence in the bathroom was beginning to make Mercedes feel awkward. Why wasn't Jeff talking? He should be saying that he was glad she was feeling better. Or something along those lines at least.

"Jeff? Are you still- "

"Mercy," he voice was low and deep. He seemed filled with just as much sadness as she was. It seemed to be coming from right by the shower curtain although he never looked in so Mercedes could never be fully sure. "Don't lie to me. You can say what you like to anyone else, but please, don't lie, not to me."

Before she could open her mouth to apologize or stick her head out from around the curtain again she heard the bathroom door open and close. Jeff had left her alone to think about what he just told her. And for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last twenty four hours Mercedes let her tears fall freely, letting them get washed away by the warm water beating on her face.

"I'm sorry," was all that Mercedes could say when she walked out of the bathroom.

Jeff had to work hard to ignore the fact that she was standing in front of him in no more than a towel. He hadn't meant to make her feel guilty or make her feel a need to apologize. He just wanted her to stay honest with him. The relationship between the two of them was so important to him; the thought of having her treat him like just another person who wasn't privy to her innermost thoughts hurt him. He hadn't expected for it to affect him as much as it had but he was truly bothered by thinking she was beginning to shut him out.

Mercedes sat down on the bed next to him and took his hand in hers. With trying to figure out why he was beginning to feel emotions wake up inside of him that had been silent for long, Jeff hadn't noticed that he didn't respond to Mercedes or that he was silent for at least a good two minutes staring at the floor.

"Jeff, I am sorry, really I am."

Jeff looked at her and smiled. "I know you are, but there isn't anything to apologize for. I just don't want you shutting me out. Don't treat me like everyone else; tell me what's going on with you. That's all that I ask."

Mercedes smiled back at him. "I won't I promise. I just figured the more I can ignore the pain, the faster it will go away. I know it won't work, but I thought maybe I would try it for today. I never meant to make you feel bad or anything."

"Don't you worry about that, just focus on you. As long as you are honest and open with me I'll be right here for you no matter you need." Jeff kissed her hand without thinking and stood up. "I've got an early day today, but I'll see you at the arena."

"Of course," Mercedes said. She was still shocked at the type of behavior that Jeff was displaying. Since when did he kiss her? Since when did he hold her and talk to her the way that he had been doing since last night? Jeff was pretty much a brother to her. A not as protective, more supportive brother, but brother none the less. Now he was beginning to confuse her. "I'll see you tonight."

Jeff hugged her and kissed her head once more before leaving. He didn't care what she thought of it. His heart was in turmoil and a simple kiss on the head every now and again helped ease the pain tugging at him. There was no way that he would try to make a relationship happen with her, not now. Not when she had just had her heart ripped out and then made a mockery of in front of most of the modern world. He knew it would never work between them. But he knew that he couldn't just turn off every feeling that was going on inside of him. New passions awoke inside of him and he was inspired to write once more as he was sitting in the locker room waiting to see that one shining face he was beginning to depend on.

"Hey, Jeff," Mercedes called out to him walking in the locker room. "I've got a question to ask you, I need a bit of advice."

"What is it that you need?" He asked trying to hold down his school boy excitement seeing Mercedes in her wrestling clothes.

"I ran into Shane this afternoon, it wasn't that pretty. We managed to stay civil but only just. Things are really weird now, with everything going on. He wants to take me to dinner tonight to talk to me. He said that he wants to try and fix things between the two of us and explain his side of things."

"He has a side?"

"Apparently enough of one to beg for a chance to explain. Do you think that I should go?"

Every part of Jeff wanted to scream no. He wanted to look her straight in the eye and tell her that she should be going home with him. He wanted to declare his intentions of winning her heart through and through. He wanted to rip into Shane and tell her all of his bad qualities making Shane look like he should be shot right where he stands for being such an awful person. But instead all Jeff could say was the one thing that he wanted to deny was true.

"You have to do what you think is right for you. If you think you need this time with him to let him talk to you then do it. But don't go if you think it'll only break you down further."

"This is why I love you Jeff. You always tell me exactly what I need to hear. Even if it's painful and a bit hurtful you'll tell me anyway."

"That's what I'm here for."

"Ok I'm going to go tell him that I'll meet him tonight. Thanks again Jeff, you've been my life saver."

Jeff managed a weak smile and she ran out the door to go and talk to Shane. "If only I could tell you what I need to say. You might be with me tonight." He said quietly trying to focus on his match instead of the beautiful girl filling his every thought.


	13. Forbidden Passions ch 13

There was no stopping the nervous pacing of Mercedes in her locker room. She had apologized to Vince for missing the show the night before, put in double the effort in her match at this show and had showered and changed. Even though she was exhausted physically her mind was fully alert keeping her up and moving around.

No matter what Shane had said to her the night before, or how he had acted she wanted to forgive him. There was nothing that she wanted to do more than tell him that she would forgive him and do everything that he wanted her to do. But she was not so naïve or simple minded to actually do that. He had hurt her too deep, and caused her too much pain to simply give in to him like nothing had happened. Mercedes was not even sure if she could forgive him. She wanted to be able to forgive him like nothing had happened; but when she saw his face she heard his cold words once again. Shane's distant demeanor sitting in front of her so uncaring and callous, that she began to fall apart once more.

There was only one place that she could go to get herself under control. There was only one person that she knew of that could relax her with a few simple words and a smile.

"Come in," Jeff called just finished getting cleaned up after his match.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Mercedes asked shyly walking in. She was still unsure exactly of what was happening with Jeff. They hadn't talked about last night, or the fact that he had kissed her lightly at least three times during the night and day.

"You can always talk to me," Jeff said smiling. He was happy and sad all at once seeing the look upon her face. She was smiling but he could tell that she was a bit tense about something. He hated to think that she was uncomfortable with him after what had transpired between them. He wanted her to stay close to him always, now more than ever.

It seemed like holding her in his arms all night long had awakened his senses. He noticed everything about her. He saw the way that she chewed on her lip when she was thoughtful. He saw that her eyes got brighter when she was laughing or thinking of something mischievous. He loved the curve of her lips and the way her extremely curly hair framed her face just right. He smiled every time he saw her suck her lips into her mouth, and fought not to laugh knowing that she was planning something out. He had always known that she was smart and creative, but now he saw just how great at re-working story lines she actually was. Jeff had been slowly noticing all these small things about her that made him fall in love with her even more second by second. Now he just had to deal with the fact that her heart was caught up in a battle with Shane. It pained Jeff to know that he couldn't make a fool of himself and declare his undying love for her. When he saw that smile, heard her laugh, it was all he could do to keep himself from bursting out with his declaration of love.

"That's kind of why I came here. You always know how to calm me down, and I'm incredibly nervous about tonight."

"Why?"

"I don't know what to do. I mean I don't know what Shane is going to say but I don't know what should happen. I feel like I want to just throw everything that happened out of the window and start over with him again."

"Do you think that's smart Mercy? I mean, with everything that happened between the two of you last night?"

"No, I know it's not smart but it's what I feel like doing. I love Shane; I've been falling in love with him for the past year."

The pain that Jeff felt at hearing those words was almost unbearable. He had to quickly swallow the hurt that was rising up inside of him to keep talking to Mercedes. No matter what his feelings towards her were he wanted to know that she was always open with him about everything that she was feeling.

"I would only tell you this because I know that you won't yell at me or make fun of me," Mercedes said breaking Jeff's chain of thought.

"No Mercy, I would never do anything like that. It's natural the way you're feeling. It's human nature to want to forget all the bad and pretend like everything is nice and happy. The smart ones, the ones that learn how to live a good life learn that we have to take the bad with the good not just block it out."

"Jeffrey Hardy you are a wise man."

"I know, I know, I'm a mini-Buddha," he said laughing and winking at her.

"I wouldn't give you that much credit." Mercedes checked the time. "Oh I should be going or I'll be late. How do I look?" She stood up and twirled around smiling at him.

"Simply stunning as always," he said so truthfully that it almost stunned Mercedes. "Go ahead get out of here you." He stood up and hugged her filling himself with the wonderful scent of jasmine and rose that she always wore. "Don't let him break you down anymore," he whispered into her hair honestly afraid that all Shane would do was hurt her more.

"I promise I won't," she said back breaking the hug. "I'll let you know how it goes alright." She gave him one last tight, quick squeeze and ran out the door dreading and yet looking forward to dinner with Shane.

Mercedes met Shane at the restaurant knowing that if things got too heated she would be able to make a quick exit if she had her car with her.

The tension between Shane and Mercedes mounted to an all time high instantaneously. Neither of them knew whether to kiss, hug, or just stand there and stare at each other. With neither one willing to move first it involuntarily turned into a staring contestant.

"Um thanks for meeting me," Shane said first knowing how awkward things were between them.

"You're welcome. It's not really that big of a deal. I mean we're in a story line with each other, we're going to have to get along."

"We can get along; we've always been able to get along."

"I don't think that's our problem so much Shane. Let's get inside we can talk there while we're eating dinner."

"Sounds like a good idea." Shane gave her a nervous smile and followed her inside. He felt horrible about how their meeting had gone. He was so annoyed and angry about the story line and about the fact that he still had to go on with business like nothing was wrong. He never wanted to hurt Mercedes by seeming as if he hadn't a care in the world about her pain; she had just caught him at a very bad time. If he had let go of any of his emotions he didn't know what would happen. He was afraid that he would say something even worse to Mercedes if he had gotten angry the way he truly wanted to. No one had seen him destroy his office when he found out about the story line. There was no around when he screamed and cried knowing what it would do to the woman that he had fallen so deeply in love with. He knew about it for a week before Mercedes found out. Nothing had escaped his father's notice, especially not the incident between him and Paul in the hotel room. But how could Shane tell her when she was already so hurt? How could he tell her something that would break her down even more? She stood in front of him in the hallway that day ready to say how much she loved him; crying and hurting. Any time that he thought of telling her about the story line he saw that face heart broken and tear stained.

Shane's intention was never to hurt Mercedes any more; he was trying to save her stress from everything else that was going on. And when she found out she had gone off the deep end, barging into his office yelling. The last thing he wanted to do was fight with her. He knew it wasn't the right thing to do to help his father, but he didn't know what else to do. If he didn't work with the creative team the story line could have been even more disastrous than it was now.

"So we've ordered dinner, and gotten our drinks, would you like to tell me what tonight is about?" Mercedes asked getting straight to the point. If she waited too long she could have lost herself in Shane's charms and she didn't want to risk that.

"I just want to apologize. I know that I seemed pretty mean yesterday."

"Mean? Shane, do you even know what happened to me after we talked?"

"No Cissy I don't, but I don't want to fight. I want to talk to you and apologize for how I acted."

"Fine, go right ahead," Mercedes was getting impatient. There was something about Shane that seemed so different now. He was still Shane, still trying to be sweet and loving to her but somehow not able to make her fully believe it.

"I know what I seemed like at my office, it was wrong. But that was only because I've been so upset about it for so long." He dropped his head. "I was so afraid that I would take everything out on you if I let my emotions get the better of me. I just didn't want to see you go through any more pain."

"Well instead of sitting there acting like I was crazy for feeling upset and angry you could have been a bit supportive. Given me a hug, a kiss, given me something, anything besides 'deal with it'. No instead you sat there and stared at me calmly and coldly. How can I forgive that?"

"Cissy please, I've been so upset and angry about this but it doesn't help. How does it help to stay angry?"

"It keeps you strong, and it keeps you fighting those people who try to break you," Mercedes said with a ferocity that Shane hadn't seen come out in her before.

"Mercedes, honestly who is trying to break you?"

"Everyone is Shane, they saw me weak, you saw me weak, and now you are all trying to exploit it."

"Do you know how paranoid that sounds? I'm not trying to break you down. I've been trying to protect you from this stupid story line." Shane said in an angry whisper. If they had been alone he would have been near yelling. He could not believe that she would think he had done any of this on purpose.

"Protect me how? By helping your father set it all up? Shane everything that I told you is sitting in that story line." Mercedes' temper had flared up and she was having a very hard time keeping it under control. "I thought that you were trying to have a relationship with me and comfort me, not get new ideas for some drama for the show."

"That is not what happened and you know it." Shane ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he had screwed up he just didn't know how bad it was. "I love being with you Cissy, and I'm here trying to apologize for making it seem that way. Don't you understand? I was trying to keep as much stress as possible off of you. If I wasn't trying to protect you I would have told you everything a while ago."

"What is that supposed to mean? Told me what exactly?"

Shane sighed; he knew he had walked deeper into something that he couldn't talk himself out of.

"I knew about the story line for a few days before they told you about it."

"And you- you let me find out from a stage hand?"

"I didn't know how to tell you."

"So let me get this straight, you kept it a secret from me, helped write the whole thing and then brush it all under the rug? Shane do you have any form of morals at all?"

"Of course I do, how could you ask me that?"

"It never stops does it Shane? You did it with Stephanie- "

"You know nothing about what happened with Stephanie!" Shane's sudden outburst had caught the attention of half the restaurant and taken Mercedes by surprise. "I'm sorry," Shane said quietly. "I am- I'm just sorry about everything."

"I can really tell Shane." Mercedes stood up. "Have the food delivered to my room for all I care. This wasn't a good idea. I'll see you at work and we'll work out the details of the story line."

Mercedes got up and walked out of the restaurant. She felt herself starting to tear up and heard Jeff's words in the back of her head. She would not let Shane break her down any farther. She was already so fragile; a wisp of wind blowing against her would knock her down. And at this point Shane was more of a tornado than anything else to her. Her feelings for him were so strong and at this point so was her resentment for all of his actions. He had lied to her, he had helped people expose the most private part of her life, and now he wanted her to understand that it was for the best? How could he possibly think that?

"Mercedes please don't leave!" A deep voice yelled as she tried to get her keys out of her purse.

Shane had come running after her realizing that he did sound like a big idiot. Everything that he was saying was coming out wrong.

"Shane this was a bad idea. I know that you want to apologize and I know that you probably feel terrible, but I can't listen to this. Every word that comes out of your mouth makes me feel worse. I mean do you even know what you did to me last night?"

"Cissy this isn't about last night."

"No see that's where you are wrong. This is very much about last night. You broke me Shane, you completely broke me. Jeff had to take me back to the hotel after I missed the match because I had cried so much I passed out." Now that Mercedes was out of the restaurant her voice had become louder. She had been fighting for control of her temper and losing every step of the way.

"I didn't know. I just thought that- "

"I know what you thought. That I left early because I couldn't stay there. But I stayed with Jeff, he held me all night. He stayed with me all night long, and told me what I needed to hear."  
"You spent the night with Jeff?" Shane was beginning to get jealous. He had misjudged how hurt Mercedes would be, but to spend the night with another man?

"Yes I spent the night with Jeff. Why wasn't it you Shane?"

"You didn't give me a chance!" Shane was still stunned by everything she had just laid on him. She spent the night with another man after she had cried so hard she passed out? Why had no one told him?

"No Shane wrong answer. Why wasn't it you? Why weren't you honest with me? Why didn't you come after me? Come and tell me that it was me and you against the world."

"What was I supposed to tell you? Yes Cissy I helped them write the story line, that's the truth. The truth also is that I fought tooth and nail to stop my father. When he didn't I fought those writers from putting in some stuff that would really upset you. I risked my job!"

"Oh don't give me that Shane. Your job would never be on the line you're the boss's son. Why weren't you there for me?" Her voice had gotten so soft and she was fighting the tears that had been threatening to leak from her eyes. "You should have been there but you weren't. I can't just forget that. I need to go."

Shane could say nothing, she was right. It didn't matter what he said, he should have been there.

"No don't leave, not now, not like this." Shane didn't touch her just pleaded with her to stay with him. He had a lot to make up for, but keeping her when she didn't want to stay wasn't going to help anything.

"I'm sorry Shane, this isn't going to work. I've fallen in love with someone who isn't real. This person I thought you were- "

"Cissy I'm right here. Look at me, here I am. I know that I have messed up, but I'm still here."

Mercedes shook her head; she didn't know what to say anymore. Every part of her wanted to turn around and jump into his arms. She knew deep down that things wouldn't be the same. She knew who he was now and that wasn't going to change. She felt like she had been fooled into seeing someone who had never really existed. Regardless of all of the hurt and pain she still wanted to see if things would possibly work with him. She was so afraid that she would walk away from him and soon discover that he was the one that she was supposed to be with only to find that he had moved on with his life.

Torn between wanting to forgive Shane and give him a second or walking away for good she stood frozen in front of her car door. She couldn't bring herself to turn around, or drive away. Neither option seemed liked the right one. And Shane, seeming to read her mind and inward struggle took it upon himself to try and help make up her mind. Not wanting to fight the urge, the need to hold her close and feel her lips, he spun her around making her face him and look at his face. He was just as hurt and confused as she was. The only thing that was certain between the two of them was the knowledge that they both wanted to experience the others body.

"I love you Cissy. I don't know how many ways I can tell you. I'm sorry for everything I really am. It's up to you to believe me. But I will show you how much I love you," Shane whispered before tasting her sweet lip gloss.

Mercedes was reluctant at first to give in to him, but the warm feeling that came over when he touched her overruled her. Her hands that were on his arms to steady herself when he grabbed her were now entangled in his hair and rubbing his back.  
"Shane, Shane I can't do this," Mercedes said breaking the kiss. Every part of her body screamed to be with him, even her heart ached for it. There was just one small problem; she could never fully trust him again. He had been so deceptive with her, and it hurt her to the point where the wound would never heal again, at least not with Shane.

"What's wrong?" He asked still breathing heavily. "I was enjoying it Cissy. We've never been as close as I want."

"Shane this isn't how it's supposed to go. I'm still so hurt."

"I'm trying to make it up to you." Shane refused to keep his hands off of her body. He stroked her face and kept the hair out of her face. "I need to show you how much I love you, I need to feel your body."

"Shane I don't- "

"Please Cissy don't say no, not this time." He leaned in and kissed her again. This time there was no stopping him and Mercedes wasn't able to. Her body melted against him and there was nothing more she could do to protest.

She had stopped wanting to protest. She was hungry to feel him against her. She needed to feel loved and special. Shane had once done those things for her. There was no reason to think that he couldn't do that for her once more.


	14. Forbidden Passions ch 14

Shane had woken up before Mercedes, watching her sleep, and admiring the way the bed linens draped over her body hugging her curves in a most seductive way. Just knowing what was underneath the bed sheets caused Shane to experience that warm, burning sensation all over his body. He rubbed his hand lightly over her curves not wanting to wake her up, but not able to keep his hand off of her.

What had happened last night was something that he had rarely ever experienced before. He had been with plenty of women, being a McMahon they were never in short supply. But this wasn't just another notch on his belt. He had felt something that was relatively new to him. He felt passion, and love. There was more emotion in last night then he had ever experienced before. A smiled crossed his lips as he began to recall the details.

Mercedes had been unsure at first. She was not one to forgive and forget, and she didn't want Shane getting the wrong idea. She wanted to try to make things work, but there were still a lot of issues that needed to be worked out, and she didn't want Shane to forget that. But Shane was not interested in forgetting everything that had happened. He wanted to feel her body beneath his and show her how much love and passion he held for her. He had assured her that all he wanted was to have her, all of her, at least for that night. Shane had wanted her for so long, and this time there was going to be no stopping him. He had always held back knowing that she wasn't quiet ready.

His smile became larger the more he thought about the night, and how much he had enjoyed it. He took his time with every move he made. This was one night that he didn't want to rush. He let his eyes take in every inch of her body. Mercedes had been training harder to get ready for her new time in the spotlight, and it showed. Shane roamed over every muscle that she had. She was tight, and toned, and Shane could not keep his hands off of her. Her skin was smooth, and tasted wonderful to him.

Shane had imagined many times what it would be like to have Mercedes, but he was amazed that she could exceed his expectations by so much. She was just the right amount of gentle and aggressive for him. She took what she wanted from him, and allowed him to have his fun in the process.

"Have you been awake very long?" A voice beside him brought Shane back from his reverie.

He smiled down at Mercedes and kissed her cheek. "Almost an hour now," he said checking the time.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I was lost in my own thoughts," he said truthfully. "Thinking about last night."

Mercedes blushed at the admission. She was not usually the way she was with him last night. Something brought out a different side of her once she felt Shane touch her.

"I'm going to shower and get out of here. I've got a busy day," she said quickly leaping out of bed and running into the shower. She was mentally kicking herself for her actions, and not being able to resist Shane.

No matter what he had said to her there was a nagging part inside of her that didn't trust him. She knew that he had never intended to hurt her, but part of her believed that maybe he didn't care about her as much as he professed he did. She had allowed herself to be carried away by the wave of passion, and desire under the night shade; but as she stood in the shower she was beginning to regret her decision.

"Cissy, is there something wrong?" Shane asked walking in the bathroom sitting opposite the shower. Her sudden movement to get away from him took him off guard and bothered him. He had messed up with her in a huge way, but he truly just wanted to put it behind him. He saw no reason why she should still have reservations about trusting him.

"No, not at all, it's just- " she trailed off not knowing whether to be fully honest, or cover her true feelings. "I've got a really busy day," she told him deciding to go with the latter option. "And I don't have my stuff here. I wasn't exactly planning on spending the night here with you."

"Are you sure that's all?" Shane asked. He wanted to pull back the curtain and look into her eyes. She knew how to act and how to sell emotion when she needed to; but Shane could always see the deeper emotion hiding inside of her. He knew if he could just look at her eyes he would know for sure. But with the way that Mercedes had been acting that morning it would have been a bad idea.

"You aren't ashamed of last night right?" Shane asked trying a different approach. "I mean you aren't embarrassed by anything we did?"

"No," she answered him with a half truth. She was not embarrassed, or honestly ashamed. She was confused and regretful. The night should have been spent talking to Shane, and explaining to him how deep he had hurt her. Not wrapped up in sheets, sweating and screaming out his name.

"I hope not, because I had a great time last night."

"Yeah, me too."

"Well then I'll let you finish up here, and I guess I'll see you back at the arena?"

"I'll find you there. We probably need to go over story line details and everything else."

"Right, story line details," Shane walked out before he could let Mercedes see the true disappointment that he was feeling.

For the first time in his life he had let a woman get under his skin; and it seemed to him like she was pulling back as soon as they were getting close. It didn't make any sense to him, they had shared so much before. There was no reason why she should be closing off to him now. And there was still the fact that she had spent the night with Jeff. He had cut her off before she had given him too much detail. There was so much going on that he barely concentrated on that fact. Now as he sat on the bed waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom, it was all that he could think about. Higher reasoning told Shane that the two did not sleep together so there was nothing to worry about. Primal instinct told him to rip Jeff to shreds for spending the night in the same room as Mercedes.

"You seem a bit… perplexed," Mercedes commented after staring at him for a few moments without Shane noticing.

He snapped his head up and instantly smiled at the vision standing in front of him. His brain screamed at him to stay focused on anything else besides Mercedes wrapped in a towel, water still dripping off of her. He needed to know what happened between her and Jeff, and listening to his lower half was not going to get him answers.

"I was just thinking about what you said last night; about spending the night with Jeff."

"We shouldn't talk about that right now," Mercedes answered quickly. There was a world of emotion behind that question, and behind her answer. Emotion that she could not afford to unleash at that moment. Vince had been grooming her for a title shot, and it would come up at the start of the new story line. The whirlwind of publicity that went with it to build her up was starting. She needed to be fresh and on the ball. Walking into interviews and photo shoots with red, puffy eyes unable to concentrate was not what she wanted.

"Exactly why not?" Shane asked taken back by her quick brush off. "You wanted to talk to me about it last night!" He said getting heated and not completely knowing why.

"And you wanted to screw me last night!" Mercedes yelled back grabbing her clothes off the ground. "Guess who got what they wanted?"

"That is not what I wanted!"

"Oh really?" She asked him not fully believing him. "You were the one that told me you wanted me, that you needed to feel me. I gave in to you and I was a fool."

"Cissy I did want you, and I did need you, but I didn't just want to screw you. I want to know about the night with Jeff!"

"I said not now!" she yelled slamming the bathroom door in Shane's face. Not that she wanted an argument, or to leave him on bad terms; Mercedes could not face the conversation that Shane wanted to have. It would leave her broken and vulnerable once more. And truth be told she was tired of crying. She was tired of feeling lonely and heart broken. Shane had not turned out to be who she wanted him to be, but he was enough to make her happy at that moment.

"Shane," she said coming out of the bathroom dressed. "I'm sorry, about blowing up like that. I was out of line."

"It was pretty shocking. Not every day that I get to see the triple h inside of you." He said letting out a low chuckle.

"It's just- " she took her time, trying to find the best way to phrase what she wanted to say without offending him. "That night has a lot of emotion behind it. And it's still so fresh that talking about it sends me into a whirlwind. I still don't truly know how to feel about it."

"Well when can we talk about it?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I've got a lot going on now, and I can't afford to fall apart. I'm being handed the belt, I'm getting publicity like crazy. I need to stay together."

Shane nodded, understanding why she didn't want to talk. He knew the industry like no one else barring his father of course. He knew the stress that it put on everyone involved. When your personal life falls apart, you fall apart, something that Mercedes could not afford.

"I hope it can be soon. I want to make this relationship work Cissy, I really do."

"I'm glad that you do," she said. As much as she wanted to respond with a 'me to', she just could not seem to. There were still so many thoughts roaming around inside of her head that she was not sure of what she wanted.

Jeff had been her knight in shining armor. The only one around that kept a close and constant eye on how she was feeling through everything. He was there for her all night long when it counted most, and that was priceless to her. She smiled to herself as she recounted how good he smelt lying next to her, and how his hair and beard had tickled her as she woke up that morning.

"That's a smile, so I must be doing something right," Shane said seeing the first look of happiness and relaxation cross Mercedes face.

"Huh? Oh yeah, you're doing fine Shane. I really have to go I've got a crazy day."

"I know, I know, you have to be the big time sexy diva. Go and I'll see you at the arena tonight."

"I'll see you there," she kissed him and ran out the door heading to her hotel room. Her day was packed full of appearances, and a promo shoot to film for the show. She checked her cell phone and saw that Paul and Jeff had both called. Glancing at the time she saw she had an hour before her appearance. Just enough time to get dressed and make one quick phone call.

"Hey Paul," she said cheerfully when her brother answered the phone. It never mattered where he was or what he was doing. When he saw that it was Mercedes calling he always picked up. "Sorry I missed your call last night. I was out with Shane." She braced herself for the lecture that was about to come, but surprisingly got none.

"I know honey, Jeff told me where you were."

"He did?"

"I came to check on you but you were already gone. But why did you agree to go out with him Cedes? After what happened the last time you saw him?"

"That's why I did Paul. We're doing a story line together. I needed to get things squared away with him so that we can work together without the tension. I did it for the sake of the job."

"So what happened? Please tell me you didn't go back to him after what he did."

"I honestly don't know where we stand," she said truthfully. Her mind was a maze of Jeff and Shane. She needed to figure out a few things before she could honestly say that she was going to stay with Shane. "He's not exactly who I thought he was."

"I told you," Paul said flatly. He knew anything more than that simple comment would spark his sisters temper, and he did not want another fight.

"It doesn't mean that he isn't a good man. He honestly just wants to make me happy."

"Then why aren't you with him?"

"Because I don't know if I totally trust him." She grabbed the last few things from her room that she needed and looked at the clock. "Oh I have to run. I've got so many things to do today. I'll see you backstage tonight."

"Take care of yourself Cedes, I love you."

"Love ya too." She snapped her phone shut and ran out the room to meet the car that was waiting for her.

"I've been waiting for you to get your sleepy butt down here," a familiar voice said to her as she slipped into the car.

"Well Mr. Hardy we all can't be as punctual as you. Besides I'm only five minutes late."

"You know me, I'm the last person to be punctual. I'm completely sporadic. It just so happened that I didn't sleep much last night."

"Why? You usually sleep pretty well, what happened? You aren't over stressing yourself are you?" She asked true concern in her voice and etched in her face.

Jeff smiled at her and shook his head. "No darling nothing like that. I just had a lot on my mind is all."

Mercedes leaned towards him and smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Tell me all about it."

"Sorry not this time."

"Why not?" She asked in a whining voice. There were times when Jeff had told her that she didn't need to know or they would talk about it later. Eventually her persistence always wore him down and he talked.

"It's very personal."

"So? I tell you personal stuff all the time."

"Mercy, you aren't getting anything out of me."

"Fine," she said disappointed sitting back again.

Jeff took her hand and kissed her fingers softly, controlling his primal urges to do so much more. "I'll make it up to you. How about lunch after this? We've got a bit of time."

"Sure, I'd like that. I've got things to talk to you about anyway."

"Like what?"

"I did something stupid last night."

"Again, like what?" Jeff asked. He didn't really want to know the answer. If she had slept with Shane it would be easier for him not to know. But if she did and things went wrong afterwards he wanted to be there to pick up the pieces.

"I slept with Shane. I didn't mean for it to happen," she said quickly looking at the expression on Jeff's face. "We had a huge fight, and things just got out of control and- and- honestly I don't know how it even happened. I gave into him, and I shouldn't have."

"So does this mean that the two of you are- "

"Together? I don't really know. I'd love to say yes, but I just can't seem to."

"Why not?"

Mercedes sat there for a moment thinking about why. She had a long list of them, and most of them some how always had Jeff related to them. Why was Jeff such a big part of this? She looked at his face, always so relaxed and inviting. What would she tell him? That he was the reason keeping Shane and her apart? Because that wasn't the full truth. The truth was that she had no idea why Jeff popped into her mind when she thought about her relationship with Shane. Shane was everything that she wanted. He had his imperfections, and now she saw Shane for who he truly was. And stripped bare Shane was a decent, good man that was trying to make her happy. But looking at Shane all she saw now was Jeff holding her in the parking lot. Jeff sleeping next to her, his arm draped over her protectively shielding her from all the pain she had experienced that night.

How could she penalize Shane for something that he couldn't control? Yes he should have run after her seeing how upset she was; but it was unfair of her to put Jeff in the middle. Shane had lied to her, and wronged her, but he was trying to make up for it. At least she hoped that he was trying to make up for it. The problem was that some of the light that burned for Shane had gone out, and it was starting to burn for Jeff. Mercedes just did not know it yet.

"Things are just a little too strained between us right now," she said not wanting to tell Jeff what was truly on her mind.

"Does he know you're spending the day with me?" Jeff asked curious. He wanted to be the middle man in the relationship. The one to swoop her away and show her how she should truly be treated. If he could only know that he had been on her mind as much as she was on his. She had been torturing his every thought for the last two days. When he closed his eyes he saw Mercedes smile, and her gorgeous face framed by her light brown hair. He heard her laugh when things were too silent. And now when he tried to fall asleep he found himself reaching for her, needing to feel her beside him. Her smell seemed to be trapped in his nostrils, and he smelled her all day long. He struggled with himself to make sure that she didn't see how he stared at her, or longed for her.

"No, I just sort of ran out this morning. Told him that I had a busy day and left. Although he was all of a sudden intrigued how I spent the other night with you."

"Really, why?"

"I honestly don't know. Not that I had time to find out. Sometimes I hate our job for this very reason. I just want to be able to have the same schedule every day so that I don't have to rain check on things like that."

"Nah, you were born for this." Jeff smiled and winked at her. He was right, she was made to be in the spotlight, and she loved it no matter how much she complained. "For now we'll have to put our chat on hold. It's time to party."

Jeff and Mercedes had finished up with the last few people waiting to meet them when Mercedes phone rang.

"Shane," she said to Jeff before answering her phone. "Perfect timing, we were just finishing up."

"Well that means you have a bit of time before that promo shoot." Shane had ignored the 'we' comment thinking she just meant the publicist who was traveling with her. "I was hoping I could sneak you away for some lunch."

"Oh I can't, I already made plans. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you would be free."

"No, I understand it's perfectly fine. Are you meeting up with Paul?"

"Actually no, I'm going with Jeff."

"Oh, how did that come about?"

"It's just natural really. We're going to be together all day long with the promo and appearances and what not."

To Mercedes it was not a big deal. There was nothing between her and Jeff that was worth hiding. And her and Shane were still on middle ground. As far as she was concerned she did not particularly have anyone to answer to.

"That would have been nice to know before you ran out this morning," Shane answered extremely agitated.

"Shane it's nothing really. We have business to do together, and he's my friend. We're going to grab a bite it's not a big deal."

"Oh it's a big deal when my girlfriend spends entire days and nights with some other man."

"You haven't earned the right to call me girlfriend yet Shane, and the way you are going you're ruining the slim chance you have."

"I'm sorry, how do you expect me to be though? And I think after last night- "

"Last night was a mistake, and I have to go now."

"You can't just say that and hang up the phone."

"I told you before Shane that I don't have time for this," she hissed at him. There were still people there cleaning up and she was determined not to look phased by the phone call. "I've got a long day."

"Yeah with Jeff," he scoffed still unable to control his jealousy.

"I'm hanging up now Shane. We'll talk about this soon."

Before Shane could say another word there was a dial tone at the other end. He knew that he had handled the situation all wrong. She was right, the day was all business. Superstars regularly paired up to do appearances. There was no reason to think anything of it. But if it was honestly nothing why had she hidden that fact from her? Shane was not even sure if Mercedes had hidden anything from him. She had left in such a hurry that morning. It was obvious she was running late, maybe it slipped her mind.

Shane rubbed his face trying to get himself under control. His emotions had been all over the place since this whole thing had started. He wondered how he even got himself into such a mess. For nearly a month his life had been twisted upside down. For the first time in his life he was not sure how to set it right. Normally he might have an idea, this time he didn't have the slightest notion of how to make everything anywhere near better.

"Hey you alright?" Jeff's voice was low and soft as he laid a hand on Mercedes shoulder.

"I'm just peachy. I made a huge mistake last night, I'm fighting with Shane all over again, I'm running all over this god given earth playing someone I'm not, and I don't know how to make heads from tails anymore."

Jeff spun her around and hugged her not knowing what else to do. He knew how she felt.

"I don't have time for the nervous break down I deserve Jeff."

"Mercy I know exactly how that feels. For now let's just get some food. You can have that nervous break down a bit later." Jeff wrapped his arm around her and led her back to the car.


	15. Forbidden Passions ch 15

The annoyance and frustration that Mercedes was feeling was written all over her figure. Jeff had to stifle a laugh when he realized that she did not even realize that she was so transparent. He could tell by the way she had turned her back on everyone in the store that she was in the middle of a conversation she didn't want to have in public. He knew that she liked to keep her private life, simply that, private. And as amusing as seeing Mercedes seething in the corner of the car, Jeff felt a small pang of anger inside himself as well. The whole WCW invasion storyline was crazy enough as it was, why drag Mercedes into it? Why force her to relive the moments and emotions she wanted to forget? Why wasn't Shane in the middle to stop it all? Jeff would have put his neck on the line to make sure that Mercedes never had to endure that pain or humiliation. How dare Shane decide that it was okay to do that to Mercedes?

"Hey, what's going on in that head of yours?" Mercedes asked Jeff seeing the shadow that passed over his normally genial features. "Seems like something is bothering you."

"It's nothing darling. How are you doing over there?"

Mercedes plastered on a smile, amazed at how over time it became easier to pull off. "I've calmed down a bit since we got out of there. I'm going to be alright." Mercedes turned to look out the window not bothering to wipe the tear that had fallen from her eye.

Jeff didn't miss the tear that worked its way slowly down her face. He sighed and moved to sit next to her. He hated to see this happen. When Mercedes had first come to work with them, she was withdrawn and never asked for anything. Most of the people there thought that she was too stuck up to talk to anyone there. The truth was she was frightened and lonely. Jeff was the first one that saw right through her tough outer shell that seemed to crumble the instant he had a real conversation with her. He began to fear that in front of him was the beginning of Mercedes reverting back to the silent woman in the corner.

"Mercy, I told you this before, don't do this. I don't want you to lie to me because you think that it'll be better if you sit there strong and silent. Come on darling talk to me."

Without taking her eyes off the window Mercedes grabbed Jeff's hand and laced her fingers through his. "I'm not lying Jeff, not this time. I'll be fine."

"Mercy, I know- "

There was something in Jeff's voice as he said her name, so soft and gentle, that dissolved all of Mercedes false bravado she was trying to keep up. This was Jeff, the man that knew everything about how she was feeling before she even voiced it. How could she possibly keep from Jeff all the turmoil that was going on inside of her? The sweet and gentle whisper that he used to say her name made her heart flutter to life and she turned and threw her arms around Jeff's waist as she buried her face in his chest.

"I just need to be held," she said quietly, trying to explain her actions.

"Sure darling," Jeff said getting over the initial shock of having Mercedes throw herself against him. "Anything you need I'm right here."

"Did I startle you?" Mercedes asked after a minute of listening to Jeff's heart beat against her ear.

"Why would you ask something like that?" Jeff's heart had begun to race when Mercedes pressed against him. He was hoping that it would go unnoticed and that a few deep breaths would slow his heart rate down before she was able to take notice.

"Your heart is beating like a humming bird. Is it because I startled you? I mean I know that I shouldn't have thrown myself at you like that. I just really needed to be hugged."

"Mercy there is nothing to worry about. I was a bit surprised but that's all. You've got nothing to worry about darling." Jeff rubbed her back and leaned back against the seat of the car. He was losing control and he knew it. But he didn't know how to gain it back, or if he even wanted to. As much as he was resisting the growing feeling inside of him, he enjoyed the elated feeling he had whenever he laid his eyes on Mercedes.

"I like that," she said still not wanting to move from Jeff's arms.

"Like what?"

"The 'darling' thing. With that soft southern accent you have, I like it. I like how it sounds."

"Oh."

"Did I say something wrong?" Mercedes asked alarmed at his sudden guarded response.

"No, no, no, I just- " Jeff paused. Every single one of his feelings were threatening to spill out of him. "I didn't realize that I was calling you darling."

"Yupp, ever since the other night."

Jeff laughed and hugged her tighter. It seemed that too many things began to change after that night. Jeff was being a lot freer with his words, and his feelings. He honestly had not realized that he had been calling her darling. The word struck a chord deep inside of him. He had heard that endearment used many times between his parents, believing that he, himself, would one day find the right woman to call 'darling'. And almost as if acting on its own volition it had been coming out of his mouth every time he talked to her. This woman had him wrapped around her small little finger without even knowing it. She was beginning to affect every part of him, and he couldn't stop her, or even slow her down.

"So what do you want to have for lunch?" Jeff asked trying to distract himself from his constant thoughts of Mercedes.

"I'm up for anything. Even breaking my diet and going for completely unhealthy wonderful tasting fast food."

"Well now that isn't the attitude of a soon to be champion. You should be stricter with that diet of yours than ever. Don't want to go getting soft now do you?" Jeff asked with a low chuckle poking Mercedes stomach and watching her squirm.

"Hey, I've been dieting and training extra hard. I think I look pretty good."

"You look amazing darling. You always do."

Mercedes buried her face deeper into Jeff's chest to hide the blush that was sneaking into her cheeks. She had gotten compliments from Jeff plenty of times. He was the first one to truly befriend her, and they had a comfortable relationship. She had asked for his opinion on her appearance plenty of times, and he always responded by telling her that she was beautiful. She pushed the one question out of her mind that had been bugging her all day, why was it that all of a sudden Jeff was having this type of affect on her? Why after so long of being friends did he spring into her thoughts; and why was she all of a sudden a shy fifteen year old girl with a crush?

"Let's just stop somewhere quiet for a couple of sandwiches? I won't completely blow my diet; maybe just stretch it a bit." She said trying to get control of herself. She was a grown woman, so why did she feel like stuttering and hiding her face from his gaze for the rest of the day?

"That sounds like a good idea. Just yell out if you see a place that looks like it'll be any good."

Lunch was not like any other lunch that Jeff and Mercedes had ever had together. The two would normally talk about anything that crossed their minds, even start to pull out topics that the two really didn't care about when they talked about everything else. But this lunch was different. Mercedes sat there imagining the crickets chirping in her head. She wanted to break the silence, but the only things on her mind were her problems with Shane. And as much as she wanted to be able to talk them out and figure out where things stood, she didn't want to talk to Jeff about Shane. She didn't want to think about anything related to Shane. She wanted to sit there and have her problems fade far away. The only person that had the ability to do that for her was sitting across from her staring so hard at his plate you would think that he hadn't even noticed the woman sitting across from him.

The truth was that Jeff did notice her, he noticed a bit too much. He still felt the impression of her body against his chest even though she had let him go over half an hour ago. Every thought that came into his head made him want to tell Mercedes how much he really did love her. Even staring at his food Jeff noticed everything about Mercedes, from the way that she chewed her food slowly and only to the right; to the fact that she never put her elbows on the table, she found it extremely rude. He wondered if anyone else knew that about her. As her friend, she had shared every little pet peeve that she had, with him. The phrase rang in his head over and over again until it was all he could hear. It was always about being "her friend", and keeping their friendship the way that it was. But now Jeff couldn't think of anything to say to her besides that he loved her.

"So this is the quietest lunch we've ever had together." Mercedes said finally not able to stand the silence any longer. "Jeff if there is something wrong I'd like to know. If there's something that I did wrong I'll apologize. I don't know what I did, but I had to do something for you to not talk to me."

"No darling, it's nothing like that at all. I'm sorry I'm so quiet. Just working through some ideas is all. New poems, and songs and things like that."

"So shoot, I'd love to hear it. You know that I love your poetry. I've been through all of your books so many times."

"I know you have," Jeff lifted up his head to look at Mercedes, feeling his stomach flip over. "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet that's all. Hey let's talk about something else. I mean you are starting that new story line in a few days."

"I don't want to talk about that," Mercedes said quickly. "It's not because the story line bothers me, I mean it does, but that's not why I don't want to talk about it." She sighed and waited until she felt like her emotions were under control once more. "I just don't want our relationship to turn into that."

"Turn into what?" Jeff asked. He had waited patiently until Mercedes decided she was ready to talk again. He knew that something was bothering her, and he hoped that she would tell him.

"Those people that only talk about work when they get together. You know where they are only friends because they work at the same place. We were always so good together Jeff. We could talk and laugh for hours without running out of things to say. Is that changing? Is that changing because of this whole Shane thing?"

Jeff looked at her shocked that she could have hit the nail on the head without even realizing how right she was. His initial gut reaction was to scream out yes. He wanted to tell her that she was fooled by this man, and that she deserved better. But one look into her eyes and he knew that he couldn't do that. She was so vulnerable, and was holding too much in already. He was not going to add any more to her plate. He could live with the pain of not having her for his own if it kept her happy.

"No darling. Things are not going to change. We will always be the great friends that we are right now."

Mercedes smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad that you said that. I don't think that I could take anything else happening to me at this moment. There is too much going on already."

"Mercy, why don't you tell me about Shane? You need to talk to someone about it."

"I know I do, I just don't want it to control my life, if you know what I mean."

"I do, but you need to talk about it more than you need to ignore it."

Mercedes took in a deep breath and stared at the table for a few minutes before she decided to talk again. "We were having dinner last night, and things were, well, they were horrible. The things that he was saying to me weren't exactly the nicest. I found out that he knew for about a week before he told me anything about the story line. All those conversations that I had with him about how I didn't want any of this getting out, or affecting my work, he just- just sat there telling me it would be alright. He held me when I cried and didn't say a word. I think that's what bothers me the most. He said that he did it for my own good. And then he had the nerve to tell me that he did all that he could to make it more bearable for me."

"So how did things turn into- " Jeff couldn't find the words to phrase what he didn't want to know about.

Mercedes nodded and kept talking, knowing what Jeff was asking. "I got up and walked out on him after a few more words were said. He came after me and that's when I laid it all on him. How I spent the night with you after crying for so long, and how hurt I was. I yelled at him for not being there for me when he should've. I went to get into my car to leave, and he asked me to stay. He asked me to be with him, telling me how much he needed me, and wanted me."

"So you stayed."

"So I stayed. I woke up this morning and kicked myself for it. I mean, honestly I just let myself get wrapped up in a blanket of desire. There was no real emotion behind it, just two people who let hormones get the better of them."

"If there was no emotion why did he get so touchy about you being with me today?"

"I don't know. That's the thing I just don't know. Jeff he isn't who I thought he was, but I still like him. Does that make sense? I want to say I love him, and I want to say that I believe him when he says he loves me, but there's something that won't let me."

"What are you going to do?"

"I know that I need to talk to him. The problem is, how do I tell him that I don't trust him? I can't look at him the same way anymore. He left me when I needed him. He took all that I told him and exploited it. I know that he didn't mean to and that wasn't his plan- "

"But he did let it happen," Jeff said finishing her thoughts.

"What do you think I should do?"

Jeff threw his hands in the air and leaned back against his chair. "Mercy, I'm out of this one. I can't tell you how to fix it. All I know is that you need to talk to him. And this time you need to stand firm. On whatever you decide. You can't let him talk you down. You deserve to cautious and hurt."

Mercedes checked her watch. "We should get out of here if we are going to make it to the arena on time for the promo. I'll decide what to do after we get done with all of this. I can't walk in there a big fat mess. Not when we're doing one of our last romantic scenes together."

"Come on let's get out of here." Jeff said taking money out of his wallet and throwing it on the table.

"More work awaits," Mercedes said trying to hide the sinking feeling she had in her stomach. She knew that Shane was also there waiting and she didn't know what to do about it. The confusion went farther than whether or not to trust Shane, she just didn't know how to voice the rest of her confusion.

The closer that they got to the arena the more Mercedes stomach seemed to constrict inside of her, and the faster her heart beat. She didn't want to face Shane, she didn't want to end this story line with Jeff, and she didn't want to see the rest of the staff throw her sympathetic looks, and whispers behind her back.

"Come on darlin'," Jeff took her arm in his, his southern accent thick, and very noticeable as he tried to soothe her nerves. "There ain't nothin' to it. Just walk on in, and keep your head high, everything else will follow. You just need to remember that you can do this darlin',"

"As long as you stay close," she smiled up at him as they walked into the arena greeted by the chaos of the set up.

"I have to get changed for the promo, but I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes ok?" Jeff asked not wanting to leave Mercedes alone in the mood that she was in.

"Yeah, that sounds fine. I'll see you soon." She smiled and waved him off, wishing that the secure feeling she had didn't leave with him.

Any hopes of not seeing Shane till after the show was lost when Mercedes found him waiting by the women's locker room.

"Are you waiting for me?" Mercedes asked turning the corner and running into Shane.

"Actually I was. I wanted to talk to you real quick before the whirlwind of activity starts."

"What exactly is there to say?"

"Cissy there is a lot to say, and you know that." Shane sighed. "I really just wanted to say I'm sorry. It seems like we're always getting off to a wrong start these days."

"It would seem that way wouldn't it Shane."

"Can you please uncross your arms, and at least pretend that you want to be nice to me?"

Mercedes smiled, and softened a bit. There would always be something about Shane that brought around her soft side. "Alright Shane, what is it?"

"About this morning, and the phone call, I don't know what happened, but I'm sorry. I know that I came across all wrong, and if you give me the chance I'll make it up to you."

"And what about the rest? What about everything else Shane? There is so much that I need to tell you, so much that I need to say, and there just never seems to be the right words, or the time."

"Give me an abbreviated version."

"I don't trust you Shane, I don't know how I'm supposed to. The man that I fell in love with is not who you really are. I feel completely fooled and ridiculous. I have to be put through hell because you didn't stand up for me when you were supposed to. If I go back to you now I lose Paul forever. There is just too much for me to risk on this without knowing what I'm going to get back from it."

"Oh Cissy, I know that I messed up; but please just give us a chance. I know that we can be good together, and I really want to make you happy. I don't want us to be a one night thing Cissy, I want you in my bed every night."

Mercedes smiled at him, not wanting to say yes, but once more unable to say no. "Give me a bit of time to think it over. There is more to this than you know Shane, more than you will probably ever understand."

"Mercedes I know what's it's like to have your personal life being exploited, I know how you feel."

"Shane," Mercedes temper was already reaching a dangerous level. "You were the one doing the exploiting you don't know a thing about what I'm going through. If you really want to make things work you'll shut your mouth, walk away, and give me time to work all this through."

Shane stood there thinking over what she had just said. Wondering if she knew what had happened when his family found out Paul and Stephanie was dating. It was a low point in his life, and one that if he could change he would. Stephanie was, and would always be, Shane's everything. She was always there for him, even when he was unsure of continuing on in the business, which his family frowned on. Although he had done everything for her own good, he knew that it would always be construed and immoral and wrong. But Paul had vowed never to tell anyone about the situation, so how was it that Mercedes could know unless Paul was trying to keep her away from Shane.

"Fine, I'll go. Just find me later so we can finish this."

"I'll do that," she said allowing Shane to bend down and kiss her cheek before leaving. As much as Shane seemed to infuriate her, he could still make her tremble with a simple brush of the hand, or the lips.

There was no denying that Shane had an affect on Mercedes. As much as she wanted to hate him, and have nothing to do with him she could never refuse him when he wanted to see her again. When she looked into his eyes all that she could think of was how many good nights they had. How many times he did hold her, or stay on the phone till early in the morning relaxing her. He had heard so many nights of frustration, and complaints. She was never quite sure why he decided to stay with her. Now the faster the story line approached the more she wondered if Shane was simply with her for business reasons. Now though, as she checked the time once more, was not the time to think over all these things. She needed to become the diva that she was in the ring, and her relationship troubles were not helpful to that.

Lost in her thoughts that seemed only to circle around to the beginning all over again, Mercedes never noticed that the door never closed behind her, as she walked into the locker room and dropped her bag onto a bench before finding what she wanted to wear that night.

"Cedes," a deep male voice that could only belong to one person called to her as she rifled through her bag.

"Paul, what are you doing in here? Didn't you see the sign?" She asked extremely confused looking at her brother who seemed to look as if he had just been fired. "Is there something wrong?"

"Cedes why would you do it?"

"Do what Paul? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why would you sleep with Shane after what happened? Why Cedes why?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"Stop dodging the question Mercedes. Answer me, did you sleep with him?"

"Paul I have a promo to shoot in like ten minutes and I still have to get dressed and make my way over to make up, I don't have time for some heart felt sibling chat."

"Answer me Mercedes!" Paul yelled as he pounded his fist against the door.

Mercedes jumped at his sudden outburst. Growing up with Paul she knew his temper, and what he could do when he was angry. But he was rarely as angry as he was standing before her, fury in his eyes, and his muscles screaming to unleash their rage on an unsuspecting, unwilling victim.

"Paul," she said quietly not wanting to test his anger, but not wanting to answer his question.

"Cedes," Paul's jaw was clenched and every muscle tensed. "I just want you to answer the question. It's yes or no. Did you sleep with that man?"

"I don't know what to say. Paul I- "


	16. Forbidden Passions ch 16

"Mercedes, anything that comes out of your mouth better be true. Be warned now Cedes I am in no mood to play any games. You know how I feel about him, and you've seen what he's capable of first hand," Paul's voice was a menacing growl, a testament to the uncontrollable rage that was building inside of him.

"I know that Paul, and I- "

"I mean honestly Cedes, you cried until you passed out on my lap! Jeff carried you out of the arena that night! He left you alone Mercedes, he only cares about himself!"

"I know that Paul! You think I don't know that? I was the one balled up on the bathroom floor too broken to move, too broken to even care. I was the one that looked into Shane's eyes and saw all that I hoped I would never see. It was me Paul, me who cried that night, and many nights before that. I know all that he's capable of, and I know all that he is! " Mercedes was at the top of her lungs, angry and pressed for patience.  
She was not angry at Paul, or at his reaction to what he probably heard in the hallway only moments ago. She was angry at the entire situation, and at her lack of will power that had been displayed. She was beyond impatient, not wanting to talk about last night, or deal with the ramifications. All that she knew would happen as a result of her night with Shane was happening as Paul stared at her, fury burning behind his eyes, and concern buried deep in face. She could tell that he was torn between being supportive to her, and burning with rage towards Shane. Her voice softened as she stared at his face, and she let the rigid stance her body had gone into lax a bit. She looked down and checked her watch seeing that she was already late for her promo.

"I have to go Paul. I can't talk about this now."

"Mercedes, I told you, don't play with me."

"Paul, I'm being serious. I've got a promo to shoot and I'm already late for it." Mercedes threw off her shirt and tugged another shirt back on. She looked at her jeans that she had on. They would do for now. The whole promo would probably only be from the waist up anyway. "I know what you want from me Paul, and I can't give it to you right now."

"Cedes, you are not leaving here until you give me a straight answer." Paul, who was already standing in front of the door, crossed his arms and backed up till he was leaning on the door.

"God Paul, don't do this, not now. With everything that has been going on backstage, you know that we're both on thin ice right now. I need to make a good impression. I need to make sure that I can keep the chance to hold the women's championship belt."

Paul shook his head and kept his gaze on her. He needed to know what happened. He didn't want to be angry with her, and he wouldn't be if she would only tell him the truth; at least that is what he kept telling himself. He needed to make sure that Shane wasn't taking advantage of another person that he loved. "Sorry sis, I can't let you go anywhere."

"Why is this even any of your business?"

"I love you Mercedes, you're my baby sister, and you mean everything to me. Where would I be without you and Stephanie? I need to make sure that you aren't getting hurt by some scumbag who only wants in your pants."

"Well Paul," Mercedes straightened out her hair and hurriedly applied make up. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm not being hurt by some scumbag who only wants in my pants. I'm being hurt by a decent man who is exploiting everything I held dear with him for ratings boosts."

"Cedes you don't mean- "

"Paul, the only thing that I am telling you is that things with Shane and I have been pretty bad. The dinner didn't go well at all, and we've been at each other's throats all day long. There is nothing that is happening between me and him, besides a lot of tension, and a whole lot of arguing."

"Mercedes," Paul moved from the door and took Mercedes' hands into his looking her straight in the eye. "I need you to promise me something."

"And what is that exactly Paul? Last time I promised you anything it was no dating any wrestlers, and you see how well that panned out."

"If you want to date him, date him, I know that I can't stop that from happening. Just promise me that you won't let him pressure you into staying with him when you really want to be with someone else."

"What- wha- what would make you say that?" Mercedes was finally able to stutter as she looked into Paul's eyes that told her he knew how she was feeling.

"I'm not your big brother for nothing Cedes. Just promise me that you'll think about this long and hard before you walk back to that man."

"I will Paul, I will."

Paul nodded and began to walk out the door. He stopped before fully exiting, turning around and looking back at Mercedes. "Oh, and God help him, and you, if I find out that you two slept together last night. I meant it Cedes; I'm in no mood for games. That won't go unpunished."

He closed the door as Mercedes sank to the bench beneath her. She had figured that she had avoided that whole situation with Paul turning soft on her, and having her make that promise. She stood up and silently prayed that word would never get around to Paul about what happened. Racing off to the promo shoot she knew not just coming clean with Paul would come back and haunt her; but she couldn't think about that now, she couldn't think about anything else besides becoming Mercedes the fearless, take what you can, never say sorry, ruthless diva. Whether or not you loved her, or hated her, she was able to garner all types of opinions from the fans when she walked in the ring. She needed to slip into that mind frame if she was going to do her job well.

"I was just about to come and look for you," Jeff said as he saw Mercedes round the corner at full speed. He put out his arms to keep her from colliding with him. "Everyone knows you're never late. What happened?"

"We don't have time, I don't have time," Mercedes took a deep breath and staved off the tears that constantly seemed to be in the back of her eyes lately. "Later," she finally whispered before plastering on a smile and saying hi to the crew.

"Darlin'," Jeff said low and sweet so that only Mercedes could hear him, as the crew finished the set up for the promo now that she had arrived on set. "I'll come to your room tonight. I'll spend the night, we'll talk it all through." Mercedes nodded, resisting the urge to lean back into Jeff's strong body, close her eyes, and let his arms wrap around her. "I won't let anything hurt you, I promise you darlin'." Mercedes felt a quick brush of Jeff's lips against the side of her face before he moved to his spot for the promo.

She took a moment to close her eyes, and take a few deep breaths to calm down the pounding inside of her chest. The way that Jeff spoke to her, in his low, soft southern accent, made her feel safe and secure. There was nothing that meant more to her than that at the moment. No one made her feel surer that things would work out than Jeff. And yet it was more than that. She always found him attractive, and it was her dream come true to be able to hang on him day after day, week after week, and get paid for it. Now she felt her heart speed up as he kissed her, or held her hand.

But she felt her heart sink as she thought about Shane, and about all that they had been through. She couldn't give up now, after all the two had been through. And Mercedes had to give him credit; he was still willing to work on their relationship after everything. Most would have walked away by now, but Shane was still here, still by her side, still asking her to be his very own.

The conflicting thoughts stayed with Mercedes all night, as she worked and did all that she had to do. They were putting her in perfect position to gain the title, and she was more than excited and honored. No matter what the state of her personal life was at the moment, she would give all that she had to prove to everyone that she was worthy of the belt.

"You ready to get cleaned up and get out of here?" Jeff asked as they walked backstage after their match was over.

"Very much so, I'm just going to change, I'll shower back at the hotel. We'll order some room service and relax a bit. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a great night to me darling," Jeff smiled at her and put his arm around her waist. "I'll meet you right by the exit, in say thirty minutes? Gives me at least a little time to clean up. I know you and your showers. You'll use all the hot water in the hotel before I get a chance to get in."

Mercedes laughed and slapped his chest as she wriggled out from his grip stopping in front of her locker room door.

"Well this is me," Mercedes said motioning to the women's locker room sign. "Meet you out back in half an hour."

"I'll see you then darling." Jeff gave a smile and a small bow before darting off.

Mercedes laughed, happy to see that Jeff was more himself now than he was at lunch. His behavior before had frightened her. The last thing she needed was to find out that her relationship with Jeff was changing.

"What's with that darling thing?" Mercedes jumped back clutching her hand to her chest, turning to see Shane walking up to her.

"You almost scared me to death Shane, I nearly had a heart attack right here. What's with you and following me around?"

"I was only coming to see if you need a ride back to the hotel. I didn't mean to scare you. So what's with the darling thing?"

"What 'darling thing'?" Mercedes asked already annoyed. It had been a long day, and a hard match. Her energy was spent and she was not in the mood to argue with Shane about whether or not it was acceptable for her to have this type of relationship with Jeff.

"Jeff, he called you darling. I've been hearing him doing that all day today."

"Maybe he does it with everyone," she said knowing full well that he didn't. Jeff was not the type to show that kind of close affection to anyone. There was not a person backstage that didn't know that about him.

"Right Cissy, he walks around calling every darling. That sounds like Jeff alright. You know that he only does that with you. He did it twice in that one conversation the two of you had."

"And what gives you the right to go around and listen to my conversations Shane? What even gives you the right to comment on anything in my life?"

"Oh I don't know; maybe the fact that we slept together, that we have a relationship."

"What we have Shane," Mercedes got close to Shane pushing him back with every word she spoke. "Is a highly dysfunctional, love, hate, constantly fighting, tumultuous relationship. Now if you don't understand that let me put it to you in plain simple English. We are not exclusive, we are not serious, and I most certainly do not belong to you. My relationship with Jeff is none of your business. What anyone says to me is most certainly not your business; and you certainly do not have the right to go around and listen to any of my conversations!"

Mercedes stared at Shane a bit confused as she saw a smile cross his face. He laughed and pulled Mercedes into a hug. "This is everything that I love about you. No matter what you say, you are mine. I'm not letting anyone take you away from me. I already told you I wasn't listening to your conversation on purpose; I was just close enough to hear it."

Mercedes pulled back from him, and still kept up her tough demeanor. Even though the smell of Shane's cologne was making her head spin, and bringing her back to the moments of her night with him that were beyond anything she had experienced.

"What are you doing here Shane?"

"I wanted to see if you would like to ride with me back to the hotel."

"Sorry, already made plans. Or didn't you hear that part?"

"With Jeff again? Cissy, please tell me that you aren't blowing me off again for that man?"

"Alright Shane, I'm not blowing you off for Jeff. I'm going to spend the night with a friend and get my head cleared. I need time Shane, what don't you understand about that?"

"I understand that you need some time to think it all through. What I don't understand is what Jeff has to do with any of that. How can you keep a clear head with him around all the time?"

The exchange between Mercedes and Shane was heating up with every word spoken. As much as Shane loved the strong will of Mercedes, it annoyed him beyond compare. Any time he wanted to lay some form of claim to a serious relationship with her, she seemed to get defensive and argued until something pulled them away from the argument. Shane was frustrated more than angry and worried more than anything else. He and Mercedes seemed to be on the right track to a life long relationship before she found out about that cursed story line. Every day that she delayed truly committing to him was another day that he began to hate his father for pushing the story line through. His father may not have been the creative genius that everyone made him out to be, but he wasn't stupid enough to pass up on something that would increase the shows ratings. And as Shane stood and looked at the woman that he loved more than he would ever be able to express, he hated his father for putting the business above everything else.

And as the two continued to argue, the presence of a third person was lost to both of them.

"Shane, he's the only one that keeps me sane. He doesn't come up to me and demand a relationship when I'm not sure that I can keep with him, he doesn't threaten to never speak to me again because he doesn't agree with my choices; he lets me be who I am."

"I let you do that too. Who was it that told you to go back to Paul after that one morning? Who was it who gave you the room to fix things with your brother?"

"Shane, if Paul finds out for sure that we slept together he'll never speak to me again let alone look at me. Whatever you did to him was bad enough for him to loathe the idea of anyone close to him being with you. I know that you love Steph, but what you did with her and Paul- "

"You know nothing about that. And it has nothing to do with our situation."

"Shane, it has everything to do with us. You exploited them, and now you are exploiting us. You can't just expect me to forgive everything, and run into your arms. I need to think it all through."

"And you're going to think it all through with Jeff around?"

"Yes Shane, I am. Jeff and I are going to talk and relax. I'm going to clear my head. How many ways can I say it? Jeff and I are friends. That's all we are, and it's all we'll ever be."

Jeff's heart sank as he heard Mercedes words. He had come to check on her when she was over five minutes late, to find her fighting once more with Shane. Hearing her tell Shane that they would only ever be friends sent a sharp pain throughout his entire body. His body had begun to physically react to the knowledge that he would not have Mercedes the way that he truly wanted her. He sighed, and walked away slowly, knowing that something would have to change if he was going to maintain his sanity.

"You know what Shane, I'm not going to do this anymore! I _can't_ do this anymore!" Mercedes yelled walking into the women's locker room hoping to leave Shane behind. However Shane was not going to be put off that easily. "Shane this is the women's locker room."

"And I don't see any other women in here besides you," he said not moving from his spot. Seeing the look on Mercedes face he reached over and locked the door. "There, now no one comes in, and you don't run out. Not until we settle this."

"There is nothing to settle. I am going to spend the night with Jeff, there's nothing that you can do or say about it." She let out a sigh and softened her voice. Mercedes had been too stressed out lately. Nothing seemed to work out right. Even when it seemed like she might have a quiet night to sort through things, something always came and shook her up just a bit more. Every ounce of her strength, and resilience, was being tested.

"I'm not trying to change that fact, I'm trying to change you."

"Trying to change me? What exactly are you trying to change me into? I'm not one of your little trophy women Shane. I don't stand there and look pretty and let you do as you please."

"Maybe that was a bad choice of words. Alright," he said hearing Mercedes scoff at his attempt to downplay what he had just said. "It was a terrible choice of words. What I mean is that I don't like how you keep avoiding us. What happened to all those nights that we spent talking?" Shane walked up to her as she dug through her bag trying to find something comfortable to wear. He laid his hands gently on her shoulders; and when she didn't pull away he ran his hands lightly up and down her arms. Nothing could keep him from smiling when he felt the goose bumps break out underneath his fingers. He still had an affect on her, she still held feelings for him. "What happened to spending nights in my arms telling me everything that you were feeling?"

"You put it on paper, and in that ring for millions of people to see each and every week. You faked all those nights, and you used everything that I was feeling for your own benefit."

"You need to stop saying that. Cissy," Mercedes leant back against Shane. He had not been this gentle with her, or said her name so softly since all of the chaos had begun. "I did not use you. You have to believe me."

"How Shane, how can I know the difference?"

Shane spun her around and softly took her lips with his own. She could doubt his words, and doubt his sincerity; but he wanted to make sure that she never doubted his actions. He loved this woman in his arms. There was no one that had yet to move him in such a way as she did. Shane never truly believed in second chances, at least not for someone who had done too much wrong to other people. Not for people like him. Yet there was something about looking into Mercedes' eyes that made Shane feel as if his entire past were erased. It no longer mattered what had happened years before. It didn't matter how many times he had angered someone for putting business ahead of personal lives. Mercedes took him for who he was, and for all that he could be. He knew that she was pushing him to be someone better, someone that she had imagined that he could be. And Shane knew that he would become that better person if she simply stayed in his arms. He felt her go limp in his arms as he continued kissing her, putting all of his heart and soul into the kiss. There was a passion that he had never felt before. There was a burning desire to take her into his bed, but there was no lust. He wanted to make love to Mercedes; he wanted to whisper into her ear how much he loved her. He wanted to give her all of him, heart, mind and body. All that he lived for at that moment was tasting her lips, and making her understand that he never used her.

"I have to go," Mercedes said once they broke apart. "Jeff's been waiting all this time. He'll wonder what's happened to me."

Shane sighed and dropped his head. She was still leaving after what they just shared. "Even after all this you are leaving?"

"Shane, I have to. I already made plans and I won't do that to Jeff. I need time, I still need time."

"Mercedes, please just stay with me."

Mercedes shook her head and grabbed her bag. She could change at the hotel. She just needed to get out of that room and away from Shane. The words that Paul had spoken to her earlier ran through her head. Shane wasn't trying to pressure her into anything, but he was none the less. The feel of his lips still lingered on hers as she slung her bag over her shoulder and moved for the door. Her heart torn, between knowing who Shane truly was, and knowing who he had the potential to be. But she did not want to be committed to potential; she wanted to be committed to a truly great man.

"Cissy, don't do this, don't leave like this."

"I'm sorry Shane. I'll come find you in a few days. Take care of yourself while you're gone." She unlocked the door and rushed out before another word could be said by either of them. She knew that Shane would be in Connecticut and a few other places working out contracts and new story lines for the next three or four days. The story line between the two would start the very next RAW and Shane would be back just in time to finalize the details and shoot the very first promo.

Mercedes' mood only became darker as she saw Jeff sitting on an empty crate by the backstage exit looking broken and defeated. She wondered if that was how she looked these past few days with everything that was going on with her. With a heavy sigh she walked over to Jeff and wrapped her arms around him desperately needing to feel his warmth, and his presence to keep her tears from spilling out of her eyes.

"Let's get out of here yeah?" She asked taking his hand in hers and pulling him up to stand next to her.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Jeff said not able to stop the ecstatic feeling that was growing inside of him at seeing that Mercedes had come back to him. Although he knew that he needed to talk to her about what was happening between the two of them, he found it reassuring that she always came back to him, no matter what was happening around them.

"Hey, I know it seems like I'm asking you this a lot lately, but is something wrong?" Mercedes asked Jeff as they walked to the car they had rented together.

Jeff gave her hand a small squeeze and a smile. "I'm alright, why would you ask?"

"Well, because when you left me at the locker room you were happy and excited. Then I came to find you afterwards and you are like this. Quiet, sullen, and barely looking at me."

"I uh- I heard you fighting with Shane," Jeff admitted quietly. "I didn't stick around for it or anything. I just saw the two of you fighting and I went to go wait for you. I figured two things would happen. You would either go with Shane, letting me know what happened to you a bit later on, or you would come back to me. I didn't want to intrude." Jeff explained to her. He left out how he had gone to the back to control the silent flow of tears that were making their way down his cheeks after hearing Mercedes' comment on them only ever being friends. His heart was breaking inside, and as hard as he tried to control it, he was crumbling in front of her very eyes. She didn't know it though, and he refused to let her see it. She had more than enough to deal with without adding Jeff's own problem to her already overloaded plate.

"I'm sorry you saw that. I'm sorry I kept you waiting too. I kept trying to end the conversation but you know Shane."

"What did he say?"

"The same things that he's been telling me for the past few days."

Jeff let the conversation hang in the air as the two of them silently drove to the hotel. It was a comfortable silence, giving the two the time needed to sort through the myriad of emotions that they were both feeling at the time. No good would come from both of them trying to talk to each other in extremely emotional states. One of them needed to be the calm level headed one. And for once it seemed like this time, that person, would be Mercedes.

"Do you believe him?" Jeff asked once they had settled into the hotel room. Paul had always made sure that Mercedes always had her room. He never trusted the whole roommate set up and always made her reservations separately. It was one of the only perks to being his younger sister. Mercedes always had her privacy when she truly needed it.

Jeff couldn't help the thought of sharing a bed with her sneaking into his other thoughts. His mind constantly coming back to the night where he fell asleep with Mercedes' in his arms. The morning that he had woken up a few hours before Mercedes stroking her hair, and taking in her scent. That was when he knew that he was falling in love with Mercedes. It was when he knew that no matter what he did, or how he tried to stop it, he was going to become head over heels for the woman that lay next to him. He drifted back to sleep resting his head right by hers enjoying the feeling of her warm breath blowing against his cheek and chin. There was so much that he wanted to talk to her about, and yet all he could focus on was how great it would be to hold this woman in his arms all night once more.

"What do you mean?" Mercedes' asked forcing Jeff to bring his focus back to the conversation he had started.

"When he says what he does to you. All of the stuff about loving you, and fighting to keep you, do you believe it?"

Mercedes sat down on the king sized bed in the room and thought about what Jeff was asking before she answered. "I believe that he loves me, in some way. Just like I believe that he does want to fight to make the two of us work. He's a good man, and he's already gone through enough to make sure we stay together. If he didn't want to fight for us he would have walked away when Paul attacked him."

Jeff nodded knowing what Mercedes' was saying was true. Shane had proven that he did want to be with Mercedes. But as Jeff looked at her face sitting there looking dejected, and yet somehow still hopeful. He knew that it was hard for any man not to fall in love with her.

"That isn't the problem you are having though is it?" Jeff asked knowing that there was something else that was stopping Mercedes from running back into his arms.

Mercedes shook her head and grabbed a room service menu. "I don't trust him completely. I know that he is telling the truth, but there is just too much that I can't trust. How do I know which Shane I'm going to get if I commit to this relationship? I don't want to spend my days thinking to myself 'well he could be a good man one day, just hang in a bit longer'. I want to be with a man I know can love me the way that I need to be loved. Not just one day out of the week but every day. Someone who can- " Mercedes realized what she was about to say and let her voice trail off not finishing her sentence.

"Someone who can what?" Jeff asked genuinely curios as to what Mercedes was going to say.

"It's nothing just forget it," she waved her hand in the air and held up the menu from the restaurant. "You want food?"

"Sure. Are you sure that it isn't anything?"

"Yeah I'm sure. Come on let's order some food." She smiled at him and handed him the menu making her way to the bathroom.

Once inside she leaned up against the door raising her head to the ceiling. What was going on inside of her? What she wanted was Jeff. No, she thought to herself, she wanted someone _like_ Jeff. Someone to hold her, and comfort her, to whisper that everything would be alright. But no one had done that the way Jeff had. No one had connected with her like him; and no one had ever treated her like she was the only person in their universe that mattered. The more she thought about it the more she realized that she wanted Jeff. She wasn't sure why, since she still had strong feelings for Shane. But in reality what she wanted deep inside her was Jeff. But once more she buried her feelings, and argued with herself that she didn't know what she wanted. She was just confused with everything that had happened. There was nothing more to her thoughts than the fact that she was confused.

Even though Mercedes had forced her thoughts, and feelings to the back of her mind they bugged her the entire night. As she and Jeff ate dinner and talked of things that hardly mattered to either of them she searched herself for why Jeff was so a key player in her keeping her distance from Shane. As they both crawled into bed for the night she knew that she had to figure out what she was feeling. Especially when she felt her stomach flip over several times in her stomach as Jeff's arms came across her to pull her close to him.

Jeff watched her for a long time, checking to see if her eyes would flutter open at any point, even when her breathing evened out in a slow rhythm. And after Jeff was sure that Mercedes had fallen asleep, He kissed her temple brushing strays out of her face and whispered the three words that he had been frightened to say.

"I love you Mercy. More than you'll know. I'd give anything to be Shane and have you, but I wouldn't trade what we have for anything. I just wish I could tell you how I feel. But whispering this is better than nothing. I love you Mercy, I love you, I love you, I love you."

And as he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep he did not notice Mercedes' heartbeat begin to quicken, and her eyes fly open at his admission. Had she heard that right? How could Jeff love her? She looked up to see that he had fallen asleep, and lay down next to him still enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. There was nothing that she could do for the night, not that she would know what to do even if Jeff were awake.


	17. Forbidden Passions ch 17

It had been three days since Mercedes had heard Jeff's late night admission of his feelings for her. Although Mercedes had thought of at least one hundred different ways to approach Jeff about it, any time she took one look at his shining emerald eyes she lost all courage and continued on as if nothing had changed. Even though she knew that everything had indeed changed. Suddenly every action that Jeff made, took on a whole new meaning, and the veil had been pulled back from her eyes. His soft spoken ways, and the way that he held onto her at night, when he knew she had a hard day all made sense. It all became crystal clear. All except for Mercedes' feelings and what, and who, she truly wanted in life.

She needed to know more about what Jeff had said that night. She needed to know how long it had been going on, and how serious he was about it all. Would Jeff whisper a thousand promises of happiness, and safety near roaring fires and under moonlit walks? Would he show her a glimpse of what she truly wanted and rip it out from underneath her as Shane had done? She had already experienced that devastation once. She was sure having that happen again would kill all of who she was fighting like hell to keep alive.

Physical attraction would not be the driving factor anymore. The butterflies in her stomach always made an appearance when she heard Jeff call her darling. She couldn't stop the smile that went from ear to ear when she replayed the way he softly whispered "I love you." There was a burning fire that went ablaze when Jeff was around; but Mercedes was reluctant to fully admit to it. She could have the butterflies for Jeff all she wanted. But those butterflies would not keep Mercedes or Jeff happy for very long. There needed to be more behind both of their feelings. There needed to be more to sustain them when the mystery and euphoria finally began to fade away. She had to be sure that there was more behind the electricity that she felt when their bodies connected, in even the smallest way.

A small wave of guilt washed over Mercedes as Shane came to the forefront of her mind. She felt guilty for feeling such passion for Jeff when just a week before she had claimed to feel the same for Shane. How could she feel guilty about what she was thinking? There was nothing wrong with making sure that she was making the right choice. Besides that one night she had no real relationship with Shane anymore. When he had given creative all they needed to make a loaded storyline out of her life, Mercedes had walked away from any relationship with Shane. There were no loyalties, no responsibilities, and no promises to be kept. She had only promised that she would consider things between her and Shane. So why was it that her mind was driving her insane and making her feel near schizophrenic with the way she argued with herself back and forth?

As Mercedes thought over her feelings, and tried to come to some form of a conclusion wave after crushing wave of guilt broke over her. Shane wanted nothing more than for Mercedes to commit to him. And Mercedes wanted nothing more than for Jeff to shelter her from the chaotic mess her life had become. She wanted a short reprieve from the constant aching that filled her chest. She wanted to remember what it felt like to be safe and happy in someone's arms. Mercedes wanted Jeff to wrap his arms around her and make the rest of the world fall away from them. The betrayal that she had gone through with Shane, the conflicts with Paul, the heart broken pain that seemed to have become her driving force; a simple hug, or touch from Jeff and it all melted away. His arms had become Mercedes' safe haven; he was able to give Mercedes the rest that she needed.

Was that all that Mercedes wanted from him? Jeff had become such a staple in Mercedes' life that she would live a thousand lonely, torturous nights without Jeff by her side if she knew all she was doing was using him. Jeff was right. Mercedes always did come back to him. No matter what was happening around her, she always somehow made her way back into his arms for that comforting hug. But she would not lead Jeff on just to keep getting those hugs. If she had to, she would walk away from him to keep him from feeling what she was feeling now. But that was only if she honestly had to. She loved the feeling of Jeff's arms wrapped around her, and did not want to give that up for anything. She wanted Jeff's arms wrapped around her, to give her the rest and shelter that she desperately needed. Mercedes became so lost in her own thoughts that she swore she began to imagine the familiar feeling of Jeff's arms, until she heard the voice that instantly made her heart begin to race.

"Hey darling, you look a bit down today. Anything wrong?" Jeff asked resting his head on top of hers.

Jeff had seen Mercedes from afar, wondering if he should leave her to her thoughts, and not interrupt her. But as he saw her head sink lower and lower with each passing minute his love and concern won out. Although he had to stop himself from running to her side he knew that he had to go to her and find out what was wrong. He heard a deep sigh escape from somewhere deep inside of Mercedes' chest and knew that he had made the right choice by going to her.

"Today's Sunday right?" Mercedes asked Jeff without actually answering his previous question. Too much was wrong, and too much needed to be talked about.

"Yes darlin' today is Sunday."

"It starts tomorrow. The worst part about it is that the fans will never know how much of myself I have to give to do this for them." Mercedes laid her arms on top of Jeff's and leaned back into his chest. "Jeff don't leave me okay?"

"What do you mean darling?"

"I- uh, I need you," Mercedes explained hesitantly. "I need you to be with me, keep me sane. Please Jeff, no matter what don't leave me. Just stay here with me."

Jeff laughed softly. How could this woman not know how much he loved her? How was it that she never realized how intoxicating she was? Whether or not Jeff wanted to leave her, he knew that he couldn't. His heart would break day after day knowing that she was in the arms of someone else, knowing that she was giving all of her glorious love to someone else; but all he could do was endure his pain, and deal with silently as he always had. Mercedes was all that he lived for, all that he stayed in this business for, and nothing in heaven or hell would make him change that.

"Don't you worry about that Mercy, I'm not going anywhere."

"Can I ask you about something?"

"Of course you can, what's on your mind?"

Mercedes debated whether or not she should ask Jeff about what he had said that night. Any argument to keep quiet about it was silenced by her overwhelming need to know how he felt. The uncertainty of it all was too much for her to handle. She would never be able to give a straight, true answer to Shane if she didn't ask Jeff about how he felt. She needed desperately to confront him about it. It was the only way that she would be able to figure everything out. The only thing that held her back was the fact that she needed to know for all the pesky, nagging reasons that she wasn't ready to admit to herself. She held feelings for Jeff, strong feelings for Jeff and she always had in some way. She knew though, that if she could not admit that to herself than she would never be able to admit that to Jeff.

Mercedes wanted to know exactly how deep Jeff's feelings for her ran, without admitting to her own. She wanted to know if Jeff was willing to take her broken, hurt, and disillusioned by someone who she thought would keep her safe always. Would Jeff give her all that she needed at this point? Should Mercedes give up trying to work things out with Shane to try and live a life with Jeff?

"It's about the other night, ya' know the one you spent with me after I had that fight with Shane?"

Jeff's heart beat quickened in an instant. Of course he remembered. He had been playing that night in his head from the moment he woke up till the moment he layed down again. He had whispered to Mercedes how much he loved her. How much he wanted to be with her. It had weighed on his chest making it hard to concentrate on anything else. Jeff knew that he had to let Mercedes know how he felt so that he could begin to move on with his life. But he did not want to burden Mercedes with anything else. So he had whispered his confession into her hair. He had stroked her face and told her all that had been buried so deep in his heart that was not beginning to surface. How could she have heard though? He had made sure that she was asleep before he said anything. Mercedes was supposed to have a relationship with Shane, Jeff did not fit into the picture. He knew all of that, that was why he waited until she fell asleep.

"Jeff?" Mercedes called softly brining Jeff back to the present, and back to their conversation. "Do you remember that night?"

"I'm sorry," Jeff apologized quickly for staying quiet for so long. "Yes, Darling, I remember." He took in a deep breath beforing trying to seem as if he was unbothered by what she wanted to know. "What is it that you want to know about that night darling?"

Mercedes looked around the halls and grabbed Jeff's hand heading toward the exit. "Not here, we need to talk in private. Is there anything you have going on for tonights show?"

"No, just came here to get out of the hotel for a bit. I had appearances, no match." Jeff said walking with Mercedes, trying to figure out what was going on.

It was Sunday Night Heat, and the halls weren't as crowded as they were for a taping of Smackdown, or RAW. But Mercedes was not taking any chances. She needed to have a long conversation with Jeff, and she did not want anything, or anyone to interrupt them.

"Good, then let's go," Mercedes said picking up the pace.

"Mercy," Jeff pulled on her arm to turn her around to look at her. "What is going on? Why are we rushing out of here?"

"I just want to get back to the hotel without anyone telling us that something came up and we need to stay."

"Darling, there is something else going on here. You are racing out of here like you're terrified of something happening."

Mercedes said nothing. Only kept up her pace, listening to Jeff apologize to people that they were bumping into in their hurry to leave the arena.

The ride back to the hotel was made in silence. Both Jeff and Mercedes, trying to gather themselves, and their thoughts together, enough to have the conversation that they were both extremely nervous about.

"Darling, you really need to tell me what's going on," Jeff finally spoke as they walked into Mercedes hotel room. He understood that if Mercedes did hear his late night confession she would want to ask him about it. What he did not understand was the need to rush out of the arena like a bat out of hell.

"He's looking for me, I saw him at the arena asking for me," Mercedes sat flopping down onto the hotel bed.

"Mercy, I can't follow. Who are you talking about?"

"Shane, he's back. He came back tonight. He's looking everywhere for me."

"And you are avoiding him?" Jeff asked trying to get a better understand on the entire situation. He could not understand why Mercedes would run from Shane. As far as he knew Mercedes was almost positive that she was going to give Shane a second chance. A chance as far as Jeff was concerned that Shane did not in any way deserve. It made Jeff's stomach twist into knots thinking of his wonderful Mercy with that heartless, business driven monster. But that was only Jeff's opinion. Mercedes saw a wonderful man in Shane, and Jeff could not help Mercedes see otherwise.

Not without lowering his own morals, and betraying the trust of, someone who was quickly becoming a rather wonderful mentor, Paul.

"No, not exactly," Mercedes looked at the expression on Jeff's face. She knew that he would not believe her, and she was right. The look on Jeff's face said all that he did not need to say. She laughed softly and shook her head. "I knew you wouldn't buy that. Okay, so I'm hiding from him. But," she continued on before Jeff could speak. "It isn't what you think it is."

Jeff sat down next to her on the bed and waited till Mercedes had calmed down a bit before he spoke again. Her presence was so calming to him that he forgot his nervousness, or that she had questions for him. Right now all that mattered to him was making sure that Mercedes was alright and making the right decision. He had promised Paul that he would not let Mercedes go back to Shane without knowing that she truly wanted to do it. That was his highest priority. Everything else could wait.

"If it isn't what it seems, then why are you avoiding him?"

"He wants an answer from me," Mercedes turned and looked at Jeff, remembering why she had rushed him to the hotel. Remembering that if she were ever going to face Shane she needed to talk to Jeff. "He wants to know whether or not I'm going to give him a second chance. He wants me to essentially get over all that happened and give him a chance to show me that he really does love me. He wants me to commit to a relationship with him. To give us a real chance to work out."

"Mercy darling, I am trying to follow everything here, but it's hard to do that when you won't tell me what the problem is. You've never avoided Shane before, so why now?"

"I can't give him an answer Jeff. I can't tell him what he wants to know. At least not until I know something first."

"What exactly would that be?" Jeff asked as his heart began to race and pound inside his chest.

He had told Mercedes that he loved her while she was asleep for a reason. He had whispered his burning feelings under the cover of darkness because his fear outweighed his love. He was afraid of Mercedes' reaction. Afraid of the rejection that he knew was to him a near certainty. He was afraid that telling her about his feelings would only serve to drive her straight over to Shane. No matter how hard it was for him to keep his feelings to himself, the fear of losing the best person in his life shadowed everything else.

Mercedes did not need to ask any questions for Jeff to understand what she needed from him. And although Jeff knew that Mercedes wanted to know about his feelings for her; he was not sure if he would be able to voice them out loud.

"Jeff, I-" Mercedes found herself unable to say what she had rehearsed in her head over and over again. As she stared into Jeff's eyes she felt herself once again back down. If Jeff did not love her as she thought, she would be devastated down to the core of her. She could not handle anything other than another proclamation of love.

She sighed and dropped her head. It had been so easy to have this conversation in her head. Every word was planned out. Even as she tried to gather up the courage to confront Jeff, the words that she had planned out ran through her head.

"Mercy, darling," Jeff gently lifted her head and gave her a small smile. Even in the midst of his nerves and uncertainty Jeff could not see her suffer like she was. "Don't be afraid. You can ask me anything and I'll tell you the truth."

"That's the problem Jeff," Mercedes said as small tears began to fall down her cheeks. "I'm afraid of the truth. I'm so afraid that it isn't what I want it to be."

Jeff wiped the stray tears off of Mercedes face with his thumb. And as he spoke the words he knew would kill him he refused to break contact. He needed to feel her soft skin. He needed to know that what he was about to do was the best thing for her.

"You should try to work things out with Shane," he said softly.

"No, Jeff, that's not what I need. I- you- "

"I know darlin'," the softer Jeff's voice got the heavier his southern drawl became. "I know what I said. "And I know that ya' heard every word I said. But that doesn't change anything."

"But Jeff if you really meant what you said then why? Why do you want me to go back to him?"

"Mercy, you'll live the rest of your life wondering if you should be with Shane. And I'll spend the rest of mine wondering if you really want to be with Shane. I need you to be one way or the other. I can't handle many more nights of hearing about Shane, and how horrible yet amazing he is. I don't want to hear about him anymore."

Mercedes stayed quiet trying to process all that Jeff was saying to her. He wanted her to go back to Shane? He had never once told her that hearing about her relationship with Shane was uncomfortable for him. Why now, all of a sudden, did it bother him?

"I don't understand this Jeff. You have always heard me out, and never once told me that it bothered me. Now you want me to go to Shane and what? Not talk to you?"

"I'm sorry Darlin' but that's the way it has to be. I just can't give you what you want. Not until I know that Shane is out of your system."

Mercedes stood up and started to pace. "Jeff, if you don't want to hear about Shane, or about my problems than why have you been my shadow for the past two weeks? I mean we've always been around each other a lot, but now. Now you won't go anywhere without me. How can you sit there and tell me that I belong with Shane?"

Jeff stood up and wrapped Mercedes in his arms. The familiar feeling of safety, and the thought that everything was about to change was too much Mercedes as she started crying into Jeff's shoulder.

"You are slowly becoming my life Mercy. No one has been where you are right now. And you have known that long before you heard me say anything about my feelings for you. If you can stand there and tell me that you are totally over Shane then I'll take you, right here, right now. Look at me Mercy," Jeff demanded softly, lifting her eyes to meet his. "Tell me that you are over Shane. Tell me that he isn't on your mind all the time."

Mercedes stared into his eyes, knowing that Jeff was right. She wanted to put him in the middle of her feelings for Shane. She wanted an easy way out. Jeff would not let her. She had already put him through enough. He did not leave her side because he worried about her, cared for her, loved her. But before she would ever be able to have a real conversation about their feelings for each other, Mercedes would have to sort things out with Shane first.

"I can't," she said finally. She saw Jeff nod and a heartbroken look cloud his face. "I do think about him, but it isn't what you think. I'm just- " Mercedes dropped her head as Jeff stepped back from her breaking their hug. "I'm confused Jeff. I don't know who- "

"Don't say it darling. I know what you're feeling. You belong to him, I have no claim on you. Go to him Mercy, figure things out."

Mercedes grabbed Jeff's arm as he began to open the hotel room door. "Don't leave Jeff. I need you here with me."

Jeff shook his head. Believing that Mercedes still only saw him as a friend that would keep her sane, strong and together broke his heart, causing him more pain than he could have ever believed possible. How could she be confused about what he had said to her? He wanted her, so badly that he tasted it every time he was in line sight of Mercedes. But he would not be the pillar that she leant on while he watched Shane tear her apart.

"I can't darling. If you want Shane, then have Shane. But you can't have both. Not anymore."

Mercedes stared at Jeff dumbfounded. "You- you're leaving- me?" Her voiced raised to near a screech. Her world was falling farther into a tail spin, and no matter how hard she tried she could not comprehend what was happening. Her walls were closing in and she dealt with it the only way she could, by lashing out at Jeff. "You told me not more than an hour ago that you would never leave me. That no matter what happened you would still be here for me. What happened to all of that? Where did my Jeff go? What happened to the wonderful man that would give all that he was to make sure I was happy and dealing with everything just fine?"

Jeff leaned down and kissed Mercedes, daring to unleash all the emotion that he had felt for her over the years. He held her up when he felt her legs become weak. He loved the feeling of her melting into him. It was something that would stay with him until he died. No one would be like his Mercy. No one else would affect him the way she had, and he never wanted anyone else to.

"I gave you all that I was." He whispered against Mercedes lips. "And I'm giving you more than I can afford to lose."

Mercedes opened her eyes to see that Jeff shedding a few tears of his own before he was gone. Leaving Mercedes alone feeling more lost than ever before.   
Paul had every intention of checking on Mercedes after finding out that she had disappeared from the arena. But his plans had changed the minute he saw Jeff walk out of Mercedes hotel room with his head hung low, and what looked to be tears falling from his eyes. Although, to Paul, he couldn't possibly be right. Jeff never cried, Jeff never showed emotion.

"Jeff," Paul called to him watching Jeff turn around. He quickly caught up to Jeff and put his hand on Jeff's shoulder. "What's going on man? Did you and my sister have a fight or something?"

"Or something," Jeff said quietly continuing walking with Paul towards his own hotel room. "She made her choice."

"About what?" Paul asked genuinely curious. As far as he knew Mercedes was done with Shane. There was no need to tell Mercedes specific details about Shane when she had found out firsthand what kind of man he was.

"She chose Shane."

"What? How could she do that? Jeff didn't you tell her about how you felt?"

"Paul," Jeff spoke in a low tone trying to get Paul to calm down. "She knows everything. She still wants Shane, so I walked out. I can't be around her anymore Paul. Not if she's going to talk to me about Shane all the time. I didn't want to do it. I want to be there for her, I really do. But, every time, EVERY TIME, that she talks to me about Shane I just want to scream. I want her to know all that he did. I want to tell her that I can give her everything she needs. I can't be the friend that she wants, not when I want to be the lover she needs."

Paul watched the broken man before him. His first instinct was to tell Jeff that his sister was not going to date any wrestler's period. His sister was better than any man in this business. But the longer he stared at Jeff and the more he got to know him, Paul knew that it just wasn't true. If there was one man that would be able to take care of his darling sister it would be Jeff.

"Jeff, don't give up man. She's got a lot on her plate, and I'm sure that she'll come around in time. She knows what a good man you are."

Jeff scoffed and shook his head. "Well I'm not the one that she's sleeping with."

"What?"

"If I'm so great than why did she sleep with Shane? The night after he left her to cry herself to sleep, no less."

"Jeff are you sure about that?"

"She told me about it the very next day. I wish that she hadn't, but she did. I thought you knew about that?" Jeff asked finally realizing that if Paul became any redder he would have steam coming out of his ears.

"Yeah, I knew. I just didn't realize you knew."

Jeff nodded and fell silent again. He was too busy wrapped up in his own pity that he never once realized that Paul's explanation did not make sense. Paul knew that Mercedes told Jeff everything. And if he knew about Mercedes sleeping with Shane why was he asking Jeff about it?

As Paul seethed over what he had just learned he slipped his arm around Jeff and reassured him all that he was able to. Jeff was becoming almost like a little brother, and Paul did not mind that at all. Paul had plenty of time for action later. Right now what mattered at that moment was Jeff's heartache.


	18. Forbidden Passions ch 18

Mercedes paced her hotel room staring at the cell phone in her hand. She found that if she didn't keep busy she would start crying. Jeff had just walked out of her life and there was nothing that she did to stop it. She had somehow managed to encourage his leaving when all she wanted to do was make him stay.

"_You can't have both. Not anymore."_

Jeff's words had been played over in Mercedes' head since the moment he had closed the door on her. She did not know how it was possible that she was trying to have both he and Shane. Jeff was always there to offer her a shoulder to cry on with things got rough. She never asked for anymore than that. Jeff was her soundboard about her problems. He listened to her whenever she was hurting. He listened about Shane, and all of the ways that she felt about him. Why would he walk out now? She heard him whisper I love you. She knew what he felt for her, and the moment that she asked him about it he ran.

Mercedes let out a frustrated scream running her hands through her hair and throwing her phone across the room. She had waited for two hours for Jeff to call. For him to call and say he was sorry. That he was out of line for what he said. She was waiting to hear that Jeff had made too big of a deal over everything. Even though she knew that he hadn't. He was right in everything that he said. If he loved her than it took more energy to keep his mouth closed when Mercedes complained about Shane. But Mercedes did not want to be understanding right now. She wanted to stay angry. Anger was what always held her together when things began falling apart. And right now things were falling apart.

She rushed over to the door when she heard someone knocking from the other side. It had to be Jeff. He had come back to apologize. He had come back to sweep her off her feet. She was so sure of it. This was Jeff's style.

"I knew you would-" Mercedes voice dropped as she saw Shane standing on the other side.

"You knew I would what?"

Mercedes shook her head and stepped aside to let Shane in. "It's nothing. I thought you were someone else is all."

"You mean Jeff."

She nodded and motioned for him to sit down. "I meant Jeff. What are you doing here?"

Shane shook his head as he took a seat on her bed. She had avoided him all day long and he knew it. He stared at the way she looked around the room and chewed on the bottom lip. It was a sure sign that she was nervous. "Cissy, you know me. You have no reason to be nervous."

"Shane, that's why I'm nervous. I know why you're here."

"Oh you do?" He asked with a smile. He hated it when she did this to him. It was a bad habit for her to play out a conversation in her head and not allow the real one to take place. Whether or not they would play out the same he never knew. But he knew that he was about to fight an uphill battle with her. She had given him his one chance at getting her back in her head. The problem was figuring out whether or not he won or lost.

"You want me to tell you that I want this great relationship with you. That I'll just fall into your arms and forgive you. I know what you want Shane."

Shane stayed silent waiting for the inevitable ramble he knew was coming.

"But-" he prompted when she stayed quiet.

"You put my whole life out there in that ring. You put our relationship out there! You know things about me that few people know and instead of defending me you went along with the writers! You hurt me Shane! You really hurt me! You left me alone when you should have been there. I have cried so much these past few weeks. I almost left my brother for you. I mean Paul has been a huge part of my life since forever. I was willing to give that up for you. What were you going to do for me Shane? When were you ever going to show up for me?"

Shane dropped his head and sighed. This was going to be a lot tougher to get over than he thought. He had not expected an easy road. He just never believed that Mercedes would hang on so hard to all of it. "I know that I messed up Cissy. I don't know how many different ways I can actually say it. I messed up and I'm sorry. Sometimes we do things without thinking. I left you there at the arena that night because I was angry. I was angry that you barged in and yelled at me, I was angry that I had to go through with it all. I took it out on you and that was wrong. But don't for one second think that I didn't fight my father on doing this story line. I knew that it would destroy you. I told him as much. I don't care if you want to judge me on my past because Lord knows that I deserve that. But you cannot hold this against me. I was not the one who put it in place. I gave up my father for you Cissy. That's how I showed up for you."

Mercedes' head snapped up as she stared at Shane. "What?" It was the only word she could manage in her present state.

"I haven't spoken to him outside of business matters for almost a month. I showed up for you Cissy. I showed up for you."

Mercedes moved in and hugged Shane. Not because she had realized that he was a great guy and they belonged together, or that she forgave him. She was not sure she could ever do that. She hugged him because she knew how it felt to lose the relationship with a family member. It was the worst type of disappointment that there was. No matter how hard you tried to get over it, it stayed with you for all time. There would be constant regrets, and what if scenarios running through Shane's mind.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," She said quietly backing away from him. No matter how much they had spent apart Mercedes still loved the feel of Shane's body, and the smell of his cologne made her head foggy.

"I didn't exactly go out there advertising it. It's a family matter. I'm sure we'll work it out. We just aren't seeing eye to eye right now. Not the first time it's happened."

Mercedes sighed and sunk down onto her bed. Right now there was too much for her to take in. So much had been laid on her and she was starting to sink under the weight of it all. How could she tell Shane about Jeff? How could she tell him that when she and Jeff kissed it was like nothing she had felt before? That for the first time in weeks she felt truly loved and wanted. How would Shane understand that somewhere along the way the feelings that she held for him got transferred over to Jeff?

If she was having problems doing it before it was certainly harder now. Shane was standing in front of her pretty much telling her everything that she had been asking to hear since the whole mess started. What was she going to do now? There was no way that she could simply turn him away. Not without a good explanation. And right now all she had was a mind full of confusion and a heart full of pain.

"Why wouldn't you tell me Shane? See this is why I can't trust you. How can I have a relationship with you if you don't trust me enough to tell me about things? It has to be a two way street Shane."

"Cissy I'm not trying to hide anything from you. I just didn't see the point in telling you."

Mercedes stood up and began to pace the room again. How could he not see that there was always a point to these things? If she needed to know that he was there to back her up why wouldn't he tell her that he had?

"There is a big point Shane. First it lets me know that you want to share your life with me. Second it shows me that you are there to defend me. I want to know what's going on in your life Shane. No matter what it is! How many ways can I tell you that?"

"I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you! I didn't tell you about the story line because I wanted to let you live a few extra normal days of your life. Everything I have been doing has been to protect you Mercedes! I have done nothing these last few weeks besides protect you from the extra stress that I didn't think you would need! I love you Cissy and if you don't know that by now then there is nothing that I can do to show you that," Shane stared hard at Mercedes watching her slowly stop her pacing. All that he had gone through with, and without her had caught up to him. After all that he had done, and said to her, she was still questioning everything about him.

"I don't need you to protect me. God what is it with men? I am a grown woman who can very well make her own decisions. If I want to talk to one man about another one than I should be able to. Why is it that everyone around here wants to decide my fate for me? Where is it written that I need to be protected from a little bit of bad news, or the whole truth for that matter? Where is it set in stone that all of you have to make my decisions for me without running them by me at all?"

Shane watched as Mercedes' voice neared an ear piercing shriek. He understood nothing if little at all about what she was saying. Something had sent her off the edge and he was more than sure that it wasn't from anything that he had said. There was something else that happened to Mercedes before he had shown up. He was just unsure of what exactly it was.

"Cissy I have no idea what you are talking about. You aren't making much sense."

"Of course I'm not Shane. That's only because you refuse to listen to me and talk to me about anything. If you deem it appropriate to tell me then I know, but not a minute before. I can't live like that Shane! I can't do it! I need to know that you are sharing yourself with me, all of you. I can't just wake up every morning wondering, guessing which version of Shane I'm going to have to deal with. When did it become ok for others to control my life? There should be no reason why I can't be friends with a man when I want to be. No reason why when I learn the truth about something how things go from there should be decided for me."

"Cissy, I'm trying to understand your rant believe me I am. But this isn't going to work if you don't explain it to me. Talk to me darling."

If Shane had known what kind of reaction would have ensued from the use of that one simple word he would have never used it. He had seen Jeff calm her down with one simple call of "darling". All of her fears and anxieties seemed to be put at ease. Right now all Shane wanted Mercedes to do was calm down long enough to see some form of reason, and explain the mental melt down she seemed to be having.

"Don't you call me darling. Don't you dare call me darling. Only Jeff can call me that. He's the one that was here for me through everything. He was the one that picked me up over and over again. He is the one that lo-" Mercedes stopped her rambling and looked at Shane. "Just don't call me that."

"Cissy I'm sorry I just thought may-"

"Shane," Mercedes voice had now changed into a tone that he hadn't heard her use other than to warn her overly irate brother to go cool off somewhere. "I don't care what you thought. I don't want to hear that word coming out of your mouth. Or anyone else's mouth for that matter, am I clear?" As she leveled Shane with her gaze she knew that she had to get out of the room. Nothing was solved with Shane and it probably never would. She knew that now. He had burned her too badly for things to truly be fixed. Of course she knew that they could always try. And maybe after she cleared her head she could tell him as much. Right now though, nothing was more important than getting out of the room to be on her own.

"Where are you going?" Shane asked as he watched Mercedes grab a sweater and head for the door.

"I can't be here. I have to be on my own. I just need time to let all of it just—I need to let it sink in."

Shane wasn't given a moment to protest as Mercedes threw the door open and all but ran down the hall leaving Shane to sit in shock. Things had been going well. He was finally getting through to her, or so he thought. She was going to start and listen to him. Had he been given a little bit more time he could have her in his arms once more like he had planned. And as the impatience and determination grew inside of him he knew that sitting in the hotel room waiting for Mercedes to come back was not an option for him. He was going to find her and get her to listen.

Mercedes all but collapsed on the floor of the elevator the minute the doors closed. Shane had thrown in her face that she had all but lost the best person in her life. He had not meant to do it, she knew that. It was just that one simple word. He had made it his own; Jeff had made it impossible for her to hear again. She needed to hear it whispered in her ear as Jeff had done many times when she was upset. It would never be the same again without Jeff's light southern accent. Such a simple word had been linked to so many memories, touches, smiles, emotions. She pulled her sweater closer around her body as the weight of what had happened began to sink in. She was madly in love with Jeff. The aching hole in her heart was evidence of that. There had never been a person to make Mercedes feel as alive and loved as Jeff had. Whether they were simply talking about nothing or bearing their souls to each other, Jeff had always looked after her best interest. She always thought that they were friends and that he wanted nothing more than that. Somewhere along the way things had changed. And because of her foolish pride she was sure that she had driven Jeff away from her permanently. She fought back the tears as the elevator doors began to open. The last thing that she neither needed nor wanted was a bunch of people asking if things were ok with her. What she wasn't prepared for was the sight of Jeff walking through the lobby looking just as broken as she was talking to Matt and Amy.

She wanted to yell, scream, and do just about anything to get Jeff's attention. The longer Mercedes stared at Jeff the more her voice and body seemed to fail her. Her throat and lips had gone dry and her knees had begun to buckle. If she could simply reach out to touch him and make him understand that there was no way she could live without him. If only she could move towards him. But her legs were like lead cemented to the floor of the elevator.

The closing of the elevator doors brought Mercedes' motor skills back into use as she stuck out her hand to keep the doors from closing and slowly stepped off the elevator. The noise brought about Jeff's attention and his reaction was the same as Mercedes'. He could not move or bring himself to look away. Her face was stained with tears. There was no smile to light up her face. She only seemed unsure as she took slow steps towards him.

"Hey guys," Mercedes said softly when she finally reached them. "Jeff I wanted to-"

"Mercy you don't have to say anything. I saw Shane walk in after I left. You should be with him, it's what you want. I just want you to be happy darling." Even as the word tumbled from Jeff's mouth he felt his heart break. Mercedes had his heart in every way possible. It would take a long time for him to learn to be happy. He would never be able to be whole. Not without Mercedes, but in time he would learn to be happy. Now though the pain was so fresh that he could barely look at Mercedes. The feel of her lips still tingled on his. He knew if he stayed any longer he would not be able to resist the urge to wrap Mercedes in his arms and kiss her once more.

"Please Jeff I don't-"

Jeff shook his head before Mercedes could finish her sentence. Whatever she had to say he was not prepared to handle. He could not hear apologies for wanting to be happy with Shane or for the way things turned out. "Mercy you don't have to apologize and I can't handle what you want to tell me. I just need a bit of time to get over you," Jeff looked at Mercedes and saw the silent tears that were working their way down her face. "Don't do that, don't cry my darling."

Even as Jeff wiped the tears with his thumb cupping Mercedes' face with his hand she could not stop the tears. He had committed himself to believing that Mercedes truly wanted Shane that he was unwilling to hear anything she wanted to say. Had she told him before he walked out of the door that all she wanted was him they could be talking about their future together instead of the awkward silence that was beginning to envelop them.

"I have to go," Jeff said after some time. His heart was beginning to physically ache inside of his chest. He needed to get away from Mercedes. And before she could say another word he had turned his back on her and begun to walk away.

Mercedes began to cry harder as she watched Jeff walk away once more. Only this time she could not let it happen. "Jeff, stay please," she yelled to him. She watched as he stopped walking. "I need you Hardy; I can't do this without you."

"You belong with him," Jeff said still not daring to turn around. He could hear the emotion in her voice. He had to be strong this time. He was doing what was best for them both.

"I want you can't you see that?" The sobs that had taken over Mercedes had made her words barely understandable as she moved towards Jeff. "I want you."

Jeff stiffened as he felt her come up from behind him. "Mercy I can't do that. You haven't worked it out with Shane."

"I want you Jeff," Mercedes said one more time before forcing him to turn and face her. "You," she whispered as she threw herself in his arms planting her lips on his. Nothing in the world was sweeter to either of them at that moment than the passionate kiss they shared as they stood in the middle of the lobby.

"You left to be with him?" The loud ringing voice of Shane McMahon brought both Mercedes and Jeff out of their bliss. "I thought that we were—that we would—I don't- " But Shane could not find the right words to express all that he was feeling.

Mercedes looked back and forth between Jeff and Shane. Where she wanted to be, and where she needed to be were two different places and she did not know how to decide.

"I told you that you need to be with him," Jeff said softly. "Go work it out."

"But- " Mercedes began to protest.

"I'll be here when you get it all squared away. I promise." He gave her a nudge in Shane's direction and turned to leave. There would be no looking back this time. He was doing the right thing. He was giving her up so that she could be happy in the future and that's all that mattered to him.

Mercedes walked slowly towards Shane. She wanted to explain everything she was feeling to him, she just wasn't sure how to. "Shane I know that I—I need to tell you everything."

"Yes Cissy I think you do."

"Not before I get a word with Shane first," the deep threatening voice of Paul came from behind Shane. "We have a couple of things we have to talk through."


	19. Forbidden Passions ch 19

"Paul?" Mercedes looked into the hardened angry face of her brother and gave him a questioningly look. "What is going on here?"

"I told you Cedes; I told you if he touched you there would be hell to pay. I told you that if you lied to me there would be consequences."

"No," Mercedes said loudly. "Don't do this Paul. Your problem is with me not with him. Shane has been nothing but great to me."

"How can you say that Mercedes? You have been crying for weeks over him. How was that great?"

Mercedes sighed and looked down. "It wasn't only over Shane Paul," she said quietly.

"Cissy," Shane ignored the pressure that was increasing on his shoulder. "Why didn't you say something to me? I thought that we were something special. I know that I messed up but I thought that we could get past it."

"I know Shane, and I'm sorry about that. I've been fighting with myself all week about it. And you deserve the truth."

"Like I said before, when I'm done with him," Paul said forcing Shane into the elevator with him.

"Paul, don't do it. Nothing happened," Mercedes yelled following Paul.

"Don't lie to me again," Paul spat out through gritted teeth. "I'm going to deal with him and you aren't going to stop it."

Mercedes looked on shocked as Paul pushed her out of the elevator car, helpless to do anything to stop him. Her one saving grace would be Jeff, and she turned around quickly only to find he had walked away.

"He's hurting Mercedes, he needs some time on his own," Matt said placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I've never seen him so open to someone before. It kills him that you aren't with him."

"I want to be. Why won't he let me be with him?"

"Shane," Matt said simply walking away leaving Mercedes to her thoughts.

She sighed and got on the elevator hoping to talk down Paul before he did anything that he would regret.

"Paul," she yelled banging on his hotel room door. "Paul open up before I find someone to rip this door off the hinges and don't think that I will!"

Mercedes was surprised when Shane open the door and walked out without a word to her. As angry as Paul was all that seemed to have happened was maybe a punch or two. Shane had a busted lip, nothing that was too bad and a red spot on his cheek.

Forgetting about Paul Mercedes ran after Shane. So much needed to be worked out before the show on Monday night otherwise the whole story line would fall apart and she would be out of a job.

"Shane please wait!" Mercedes breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he actually stopped. Jogging to catch up to him she walked around to the front and gently touched his face. "What did he do to you?" She said quietly looking at him with genuine love and concern.

"Nothing that I can't handle, and that I didn't deserve," he said pulling away from her touch. "I'll be fine once I get some ice on it."

"Come to my room Shane, I'll clean you up and we can talk."

"What is there to talk about Cissy? You lied to me this whole time."

Mercedes shook her head and looked down at the floor. "Look I know I screwed up but I wasn't lying to you. Please, if we can just talk than you will understand." She reached up and stroked his face. "I still care about you Shane. I still love you. Please, let me talk to you."

This time Shane did not pull from her touch. He closed his eyes and relished in her words. If she were still in love with him then he might have a chance with her. Her soft skin had always brought him to life. The way she stroked his bruised cheek and bleeding lip made him yearn for a lifetime of cuts and bruises.

"Stay with me Cissy," he whispered into her hair pulling her in for a hug. "Please stay with me."

Mercedes stayed quiet as she leaned against his chest and listened to the slow beating of his heart. She loved this man is so many ways. The problem was that she could not get past his betrayal to love him the way he wanted.

"Come on," She said taking Shane's hand. "We'll go back to my room and talk things out. I have some things to talk to you about Shane."

Shane followed silently. There was so much to say, so much that he wanted her to know and no way he could be able to voice them all.

"Sit," Mercedes said as she let Shane into her room. "I know this seems like a little déjà vu but just deal with me." She said with a small smile as she watched Shane enter the room.

"Listen before we talk I just need to let you know one thing," Shane said as he turned to face Mercedes. She nodded and he pulled her close kissing her slowly and softly. Ignoring the pain coursing through his lip. It didn't bother him at all. It reminded him just how much punishment he would take for her; how much he truly did love her. He may have messed things up in the biggest way between the two of them but his feelings were still there. And the longer that Mercedes returned the kiss the more he was convinced that Mercedes still felt the same as well.

Mercedes pulled away from Shane and looked up. She gave him a small smile and touched the cut on his lip. She knew what the kiss was for. Now she needed to tell him that she needed Jeff in her life, and he needed to respect that.

"Does your lip hurt very much?" She asked softly. When Shane shook his head she led him to the bed and sat next to him. "You macho men always refuse help."

"A little ice and I'll be fine," Shane took her hand and kissed it. "Besides, the pain is worth it for you. You need to know that I would go through anything for you."

"Shane, I can't keep going through this. I can't be with you Shane. It's too confusing. One day you are this wonderful man, everything that I want. Other times it's hard to get you to look at me. I need more Shane. I know what we went through in the beginning and I know everything that I said and I want to be able to stick with that. I honestly and truly do."

"So then what is the problem exactly? You know how much I love you. I love you Cissy. I honestly and truly love you."

"You don't trust me though Shane. And I don't mean you think I would cheat on you because I know that you don't think that. You want to protect me from everything. You went to shelter me. I need someone to trust me, trust _in_ me. You have never treated me as an equal and I'm not sure you will. I need someone that I know I can wake up to in the morning and talk to. I need to feel that whoever I am with trusts me enough to tell me the truth even if it will hurt."

"Cissy I've made mistakes but that doesn't mean that I can't give you everything that you need."

"I don't know if you can or not Shane. At this point it isn't whether or not you can. Somewhere along the line I fell in love with Jeff. I love you Shane but not how I love Jeff." Mercedes stopped and took in a deep breath trying to keep the tears in her eyes. She had cried enough for the day, and there was no need to do anymore. She could get through her speech to Shane without crying. "I love you Shane but I need to let you go. I've ruined so much for you already. I don't think I can do anymore."

"That's it? That's how it ends? You barely give us chance and then tell me that I'm the one that has the problems? How could you just sit there and tell me that Jeff is everything you need without a single tear or emotion?"

Mercedes stood and walked to the other side of the room. She could forgive his yelling at her. He was heartbroken and she deserved it. What she couldn't handle was hearing that none of this had an effect on her.

"I'm trying not to get emotional because it would not help anything Shane. You know how much I care about you. This hurts me and I want to try and settle things as civil as possible."

"Civil? You want things to be civil?" Shane gave a harsh cynical laugh. "Things were far past civil when I saw you in the arms of Jeff!"

"I'm sorry about that, I really am. I don't know what you want me to do Shane. I am not going to stay with you out of guilt. I love Jeff!" Mercedes yelled throwing her hand into her chest. "I have given up so much already for you. My brother, Jeff, a huge part of my career has to be centered on you and me. Why? Because of you; it's all because of you."

"That was because you loved me. You said you loved me not that colored haired fruit cake."

"I did, and still do. Things happen Shane. I fell in love with Jeff, I love him so much that I want to crumble to pieces knowing that he doesn't want me because of you. Because you won't give up. Because you won't let me give you up. I have to move on Shane. Things can't work between us. What I need and what you can give me are not on the same page."

Shane dropped his head and sighed. There would be no changing her mind at this point. How she could love him and not want to be with him was something that was unfathomable.

"Fine, I give up," he said walking to the door. "You don't want me, I get that. But, you'll be lucky if big brother still has a job at the end of the week," He gave her one last cold, sweeping look and walked out of the door.

Mercedes stared after him shocked. For the first time she saw what Paul had been warning her about. She had never seen Shane so callous and indifferent. She knew that Paul had restrained himself in whatever he had done. And had she given in to Shane and stayed with him Paul would be perfectly safe. Shane had become what she never wanted to admit to. He was calculating, and manipulative, and if you crossed him there would be hell to pay; but she also knew that Paul was not going to sit back and just take it. He would raise his own hell if someone tried to come against him unwarranted.

Mercedes stood rooted to the same spot in the floor shaking, unable to move. She was infuriated with Shane, heartbroken over Jeff, and unsure where things stood with Paul. So much had happened in so little time and it was finally starting to sink in.

"Mercy," a soft voice called through the door. "Mercy are you in there? I wanna talk." Jeff peeked his head through the small crack in the door and looked around. It was unlike Mercedes to leave her hotel room door open. And it worried Jeff to see it even a crack open. "Mercy honey is everything ok? Paul called me told me that I should get to you as soon as I could. He wouldn't tell me what happened. Mercy," he called one more time before opening the door.

Mercedes stood there with tears running down her face. Not making a sound or moving. The only sign of life was the tears that Jeff saw making their way down her cheeks leaving marks where they fell.

"Oh baby, what did they do to you? I thought that you would be safe." Jeff touched her gently watching her flinch at the movement. "Come sit on the bed. Come on; you're safe now, you're with me darling."

Mercedes' eyes moved towards Jeff as she heard the word darling. Something in her sparked up and she began to return to her body. "Jeff?" she asked softly still staring in a somewhat distant manner. "He is going to fire Paul. You hate me, Paul hates me, and it's all my fault. Everything is my fault." She said quietly before returning to her almost catatonic state.

"Mercy darling, you gotta snap out of this," Jeff said rubbing her back. "I don't hate you honey and neither does Paul. We love you." He sighed when he saw that there was no response. "I don't know what happened but you need to know that I'd never hate you. I'll never have anything but love for you. Come on, lay down and get some rest."

It seemed as if Jeff were moving around a mannequin rather than an actual human. Mercedes' limbs seemed to do as they were told, moving when and where Jeff wanted them to move, but there was no sign of life, no spark in her eyes, no will power to do anything.

Rather than worry and call for help Jeff lay down next to Mercedes and ran his fingers through her unruly curls. This was how he loved her, unkempt, raw, natural and a wonderfully perfect mess. Nature had its own way of doing things and Jeff liked to keep to that when he could. Mercedes needed no further help on her way to be absolutely stunning and to a man like Jeff, seeing her in her natural beauty, red eyes, heartbroken, and spiritless was the best possible way to see her.

If in the morning she was still unresponsive and had that far away look in her eyes then Jeff would worry. But he was almost positive that, that wouldn't be the case. Mercedes was a fighter. Given a bit of time to deal with the impact of how her life seemed to be on a collision course to hell and she was powerless to stop it; Mercedes would be back on her feet and fighting like Jeff had always known her to. That's right, nature always had a way of taking care of things, and human nature was one of the most unwavering, unchanging things. Mercedes would be furious, and blood thirsty when she got over her initial shock.

Slowly fluttering her eyes open at the first few rays of daylight, Mercedes blinked at the amount of light pouring in the room and tried to gain her senses back. She could barely remember anything that happened to her after Shane left her room. It all seemed like a giant dream. All of her memories seemed to be wrapped in a fog. How did she fall asleep? When did she have time to throw of her jeans and climb under the blankets? When did she clean her face of the tears that had been silently flowing since her talk with Shane? Nothing seemed right to her as she looked around her. Not until her eyes landed on Jeff who was sprawled out on the other side of the bed. She gave a soft laugh and tried to piece all the events of the night together.

She remembered Jeff walking into the room. She said something to him- but she couldn't remember what. She knew she responded to him when he called her darling in that familiar southern drawl. But she knew nothing else. It all seemed to black out. What happened to her that made her black out?

Straining her mind and reaching through all the crazy events of the day her face fell as she remembered the cold, hurtful words that Shane spat out before leaving her hotel room. Her heart began to pound in her chest so forcefully that it was beginning to constrict her breathing. The very air around her seemed to form a cement ceiling. One that wouldn't let her breathe properly, no matter how hard she tried. How could Shane say such a thing? She had tried so hard to fix things with Shane, to make him understand just how broken hearted she was from everything that had transpired. Only to have Shane threaten Paul's job. Was it possible that she had been so horrendously wrong about Shane's character? She had spent nights and sunrises talking to Shane. He had been the first man that she had slept with in years. How could she be so wrong?

No, she couldn't be that wrong. He was simply hurt, making idle threats to upset her. He needed to know that she hurt as bad as he was. It was wrong, of course, but she could at least understand why he needed at least that small bit of satisfaction. She grabbed her cell phone to prove to herself that she was right, Shane was not as petty and vindictive as all that.

"Hey Paul," She said softly into the phone when she heard his voice deep and gravelly from sleep float through the receiver. "I know it's early."

"Never mind that Cedes, what's going on? Is everything ok over there?"

Mercedes swallowed the lump in her throat and took a moment to contain the tears that wanted to spill out from her eyes once again.

"Getting there," she said honestly. "I just wanted to make sure that everything was ok with you. You don't have any calls or voicemails from Vince or Shane do you?"

"No, not at all, I haven't heard anything from anyone since I knocked out Shane yesterday."

"About that Paul," Mercedes' voice cracked as her emotions threatened to take over her. "Are we ok? I know that a lot of things have happened that you don't approve of Paul but-"

"I know Mercedes, you need to be your own woman. I didn't hurt Shane because I was angry at the choice you made." At the disbelieving scoff on the other end Paul continued on. "Not only because of that. I did it because I know you've been hurt by him. I've seen how Jeff treats you, how he looks at you. I just know Shane isn't that. I hit him because he broke your heart sis."

"You know that I can take care of myself," Mercedes said lightly at his comment. At the sight of Jeff stirring in his bed Mercedes got up and walked to the bathroom. "Thanks for always having my back but I think that I can handle my own life bro."

"I know, I see shades of me in you and I couldn't be prouder of that. You make me proud every day that you go out to that ring and show people how much you can really do. You've gotten here all on your own and I know that. I just love you too much to see you so hurt."

Mercedes wiped the tears at her eyes and sat down on the toilet. "I love you too. So this means that we are ok?"

"Yeah this means we're ok."

"I'll see you at the arena tonight."

"If you need to cry after tonight you just come on to me and Stephanie. We always love to have you around," Paul said in a soft tone.

Mercedes smiled at how soft and concerned his voice was. Usually that tone was only used on Stephanie when he thought no one was watching them. When Paul's entire macho man exterior melted away into the warm, caring person that Mercedes had known all her life.

"If I need you I promise that I'll come to you. I'll see you soon," she said before hanging up her phone and walking out of the bathroom.

She stopped just short of the bed and stared in awe at the beauty of the man lying in bed. Jeff was truly a sight to behold. She had always loved the way that his colorful hair fell all around him while sleeping. The way he snored ever so softly while his head was buried in the pillows. She loved the beginnings of the tattoo that traced all up and down his right arm. Everything about him was beautiful. It may have seemed odd for some people to say, but Jeff Hardy was a beautiful man.

"It's too early to be awake, come on back to bed darling."

Mercedes laughed at Jeff's sleep filled voice, and how it was half muffled with his face buried in the pillows.

"I've slept enough. You keep sleeping I'm going to get a good workout in."

Jeff looked up from his pillow and took in the disheveled look of Mercedes. "God I love you this way," he said before he could even realize that he was talking out loud.

"Thanks I guess, I haven't really heard that before."

"Then other guys don't know what they are missing. Come on over here for at least five minutes. You can spare five minutes can't ya' darling?"

"When you ask like that," Mercedes said climbing back under the blankets and sliding in Jeff's arms once more.

"If I were the type to worry real quick I would have been worried about you last night. I've never seen you that way."

"I'm sorry, I just- I guess it all came crashing down on me," she whispered. "Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"Always my darling, always." Jeff laid a kiss on her head and took in her wonderful scent. Nothing could make this moment any more perfect in his mind.

"I ended things with Shane for good. I told him that I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't get past what he did to me. I don't know if that makes me a horrible person or not, but I felt bad not telling him the truth. He threatened Paul's job because of it."

"He was just angry. I'm sure that everything is going to work out fine. Besides nothing of this story line is going to work unless Paul keeps his job," Jeff said pulling her close. Although he said the words to Mercedes he didn't fully believe them. It was his pure and honest hope that he would indeed be right, but he had seen Shane do things that were downright shameful. Nothing could be put past Shane.

"Well I think the five minutes is up Mr. Hardy. I need to get going to do a bit of training before tonight."

"Do we really have to do this?" Jeff asked before letting Mercedes go. It's just so close to real life that I don't know how we'll all handle this. Fighting with Paul, intimate talks with Shane, driving me away, how are we going to play it all out without getting emotional?"

Mercedes sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. But honestly I don't want to think about it because if I do I'll cry and lord knows I have no more tears in these tired eyes."

"Well before you leave, at least let me have one of these," Jeff said before rolling Mercedes over and pulling her in for a long sweet kiss.

He didn't bother to stop until he felt Mercedes' body fully pressed against his and a soft moan escape her lips. It was a tease, he knew. But he needed to taste her again, give her a small piece of everything that he had built inside of him. He needed to let out small bits of his desire before it all came exploding out of him at the wrong moments.

"Go on, go train darling," he said breaking the kiss. He smiled at her as he watched her pant, trying to catch her breath.

"What was all of that for?" She asked smiling at the tingling feeling that was still playing on her lips.

"Because I can, and because," he said leaning into her ear brushing her earlobe with his lips. "I want you to know how much I want you," he said in a deep throaty voice.

Mercedes' blush seemed to take over her entire body as she let out a nervous giggle. No man had ever elicited such strong desires in her. She could think of nothing to do, nothing to say besides stare at him with a wide smile on her face.

"Go train, I'll see you back here for a little breakfast."

Still unable to speak Mercedes only nodded at Jeff's words and got her things together to leave. How things had gone from hellish to wonderful in such a short amount of time seemed amazing to her. And no matter how hard tonight would be, she would not let anything bring her down from the natural high that Jeff's touch put her in.

Such was Mercedes' strong determination to be happy that even walking into the arena to whispers and stares could not bother her. Jeff was whispering to her, leaning into her, letting her know that his comforting presence would only leave her when absolutely necessary.

It was only when she ran into Shane that she put her hand on Jeff and silently asked him for some time with Shane alone.

"Are you sure?" Jeff asked softly. He stayed until Mercedes nodded and gave him a shaky reassuring smile. He only nodded to her and walked away. Waiting around the corner in case something bad should happen.

"Shane, can we talk?"

Shane looked up from his stack of papers and fought the urge to cry, to fall to his knees and beg forgiveness for his stupidity. The way he had left her he knew had to hurt her, but he wanted a reaction from her. The stone cold look she was giving him while talking to him was driving him crazy. If she had cared about him how could she stand there with no emotion? He needed emotion; it was his last form of assurance that his time with Mercedes wasn't totally false.

But the McMahon inside of him would not let himself plead for forgiveness. Paul did deserve to lose his job, not that Shane had no part in helping that along, but his behavior did warrant termination. Mercedes had broken his heart. No, there was no need for an apology. If she didn't want him then he would leave it at that.

"What would you like to talk about?"

"Last night. Look I know things went wrong but- " Mercedes began to ring her hands together with nerves. "I just want you to leave Paul alone. This thing is between me and you. You want to make work life hell for me that's fine. Post pone my title reign ok. I know that I deserve it all but I want you to leave Paul alone." The tears began to fall slowly out of Mercedes' eyes. "He means everything to me, more than you or Jeff or even this business. But this business is his life, he won't survive without it. And I know that I hurt you, that what I did was reprehensible. I deserve it all Shane. I'm sorry for what I did, I really am. I want it to be different but it just can't, can't you see that?"

Shane stared at Mercedes standing there pleading before him. How did he hide the fact that his heart was breaking over and over inside of his chest? How did he not take her into his arms and tell her that he would let her go off and be with whoever she felt was right if it would stop her tears. How could he make his Cissy cry? His wonderful, glorious Cissy who was taking the blame for everything, even giving him permission to punish her.

"Cissy," he said breathlessly and softly. "Look at me honey."

Mercedes reluctantly lifted her eyes to his. "I'm so sorry Shane. I love you so much and the thought that all this is happening because of one foolish mistake, one stupid storyline. God Shane I'm so sorry, I don't know what else to say. Please will you leave Paul alone?"

Shane swallowed hard to get rid of the lump that came to the back of his throat. He was a total fool, but that was the old saying wasn't it? Only fools fall in love. And Shane was indeed a fool. He had traded in this amazing woman for a storyline and a good impression with his dad.

"I am not going to do anything to you. I couldn't delay your title reign even if I wanted to. And as far as Paul, I can put in a good word but it's out of me hands. My father took it to the board this afternoon after he saw me. I don't know how much I'll do but I'll try."

Mercedes nodded and began to walk away.

"Hey Cissy," Shane called to her as she began to walk away. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry too. I was completely foolish and pig headed to do what I did. I wanted so badly for you to love me for life. You Cissy, you are my everything. That won't change."

Mercedes could not control herself anymore and flung herself into Shane's arms burying her face in the crook of his neck and took in his scent.

"I love you Shane, I always will, just not the same way anymore. I need to know we can get past all of this."

"One day," Shane said after a lengthy silence. "We will be, one day."


End file.
